Ever wondered how self-binding receiving blankets are made? They can be a bit confusing - until you've made one! It's a lot simpler than you may think, and you'll have one (or two!) made in no time.
Ready to get started?
1.5 yard flannel for blanket back/border (make sure to pre-wash)
1.25 yard flannel for blanket top (make sure to pre-wash)
ruler
Cut:
flannel for blanket back/border: 42"x42"flannel for blanket top: 36"x36"
Note: The sizes you cut your blanket top and back will determine your finished blanket size. In this case, pieces cut at 42" and 36" will give a finished size of 39". If you want to adjust your size, just remember that the finished size will be the median between the two sizes you cut (39" is 3" larger than 36" and 3" smaller than 42").
Also, the larger the difference between your the size of your two pieces, the larger the border will be. With the measurements in this tutorial, the border will be 1.5". If you want a larger border, you can increase the amount of difference between the two flannel pieces that are cut, and of course the opposite is true for a smaller border as well. One thing to keep in mind with a larger border is that the larger it gets, the smaller your finished size will be as well, which is one reason that I like to keep a 6" or less difference between the two sizes.
Directions:
1. Fold each flannel piece in quarters and mark center of each edge with a pin. Open pieces up and pin, right sides together, starting at centers and working outwards. Each end will be left with excess backing fabric.
Each corner should look like this:
2. Mark 1/4" in both directions by drawing a small square on each corner. Using these marks as your stopping and starting points, stitch along each side of pinned pieces using a 1/4" seam allowance. If you'd like, you can start stitching at center of each side and work outward rather than stitching from end to end, but if you've pinned well you shouldn't need to. Leave a 6" opening on the middle of one side to later turn the quilt right side out through.
4. The next step can be tricky to visualize, so just make sure to follow the illustrations and you'll be fine! Align your ruler with the end of side seam stitching, forming a 90 degree angle with the folded edge.
5. Trace along ruler edge, marking 90 degrees from the folded edge to the end of stitching. Stitch along marked line from folded edge to end of side seam stitching.
6. Trim seam allowance to 1/4", removing excess backing fabric.
7. Press all seams and turn blanket right side out through opening.
8. Carefully press mitered corners in place. Press all four borders flat, being careful that they are evenly sized on all sides (it can help to put a couple of pins away from where your iron will be hitting to make sure everything will lay nice and flat).
9. Topstitch close to seams on all four sides of blanket, and stitching closing opening. Add a second row of topstitching if you prefer.
Great job! Admire your blanket and make some more!
35 comments:
I can't wait to try this! I dislike working with binding so this is right up my alley. :)
Can't wait to try this and make a bunch for my future niece!!!
Yay! I've been waiting for this post ever since you introduced the idea last month. I've never made one before because the other tutorials I've seen were difficult to follow. You did a great job of describing and taking selective photos to illustrate the steps. This is the best tutorial on this subject that I've seen!!
This is an excellent tutorial for these blankets! And I appreciate the added info on changing up the border size.
What fabric is this? I love it!
SPLENDID tutorial! I have recently seen an online video of this same concept, but this tutorial makes the process so much more plain. And I can easily refer back to any step if I need to refresh my memory. The info on customizing the border size is extra-helpful, too. I've always struggled with getting my borders to look nice. Now they'll be simple and look great. Abby, you ROCK!
This has come at the perfect time. I have just been going through my stash for suitable fabrics to make a baby blanket . Now I know what to do with them. Thanks!
Thank-you so very much for this tutorial. I have been trying to figure this out by myself and your instructions make some of the fine points very clear. Will be making several of these soon.
You make it look so easy .... thank you, thank you!
Thanks so much for sharing this project. Your tutorial is so perfect and easy to follow. I've wanted to try this but never felt comfortable until now... I will give this a try today! Thanks again. AJ@queenofmynest
What a great tip! I've never seen this before and could have used it several times now. Looks so neat! Thanks for sharing.
http://stellabskitchen.blogspot.com
This is totally awesome, Abby! Next baby blanket will be bound this way.
absolutely amazing!! I hate binding more than anything because of the corners but this looks so simple and is gorgeous! Thank you for taking the time to do the tutorial!!!
Great tutorial! Love how sharp those corners look and can't wait to make a few of these!
Thanks for this great tute! I'm having a problem with the final product though. There seems to be too much material in the middle, nothing will lay down flat. I have what amounts to a giant floor pillow, if I were to stuff it. I tried making it in a smaller size to see if I could figure out the problem and now i have a nice pincushion. :( Any idea what I'm doing wrong?
Julia - what measurements did you cut your front and backing fabrics? If you email me a pic, that would be great - I'd love to help!
Just started on this lovely blanket, but I cut one corner the wrong way! Now it is more like a fitted sheet instead of a border..... I think I know how to fix it but don't want to make it worse! Thanks!
Kelly
Same thing as Julia. 40" square or the front and 45" square for the back. ???
Sharon - The only thing that needs to lay flat are the four sides. Each corner should have excess fabric (the one that you cut larger). If that's not making sense, feel free to email me a pic and I can figure out exactly what you're having trouble with :).
I figured out what I did wrong, now to try and fix or rather, put in the new "enhancements" at the corners!
My mistake. I made/measured a 90* angle from the stitched line not the folded edge as you stated. Next time I'm using my laptop for the visuals (bigger pics than my tablet) and slowly reading the intructions...step-by-step! :-)
My mistake. I made/measured a 90* angle from the stitched line not the folded edge as you stated. Next time I'm using my laptop for the visuals (bigger pics than my tablet) and slowly reading the intructions...step-by-step! :-)
Where did you buy this beautiful flannel fabric?
Anon - I ordered it online from Fabric.com, and it's by Michael Miller :).
Can you make this blanket from a rectangular piece of fabric?
I used a 40" square and a 30" square and it was plenty big for a receiving blanket (that's 1 1/8 yard and 7/8 yard). I also used a fancy stitch for the top stitch with a twin needle. How often do we ever use our fancy stitches? Turned out great! Love, love, love these little blankets. If you need a visual, there's a youtube video if you google the self-binding baby quilt (receiving blanket) that's 12.38 minutes long.
I made 5 for my new granddaughter whom we are still waiting to be born, and another with Yo Gabba Gabba flannel for her sister who is 1. She loves Gabba. I will give her this as a gift for when her little sister is born.
I'm having the same issue as Julia did- when I turn it right side out, looks like it should be stuffed? The smaller side looks a bit wrinkled? My dimensions were 42' for the larger square and 36' for the smaller- help! :(
Anon - I'm guessing that your issue has to do with the way you mitered your corners. I'd go back and double check that your corners look just like the blanket in my photos, it's easy to accidentally get the angle wrong :).
What did I do wrong? I folded the fabric so the seams matched before marking the angle to sew so my blanket was a triangle when folded. My edge turned out to be about an inch wide. The corner angled seam is 1/2 on the front and 1/2 on the back.
Anon - What sizes of fabric squares did you start with? The smaller the difference between the two, the smaller the border ends up being. Did you start with a smaller difference than I mentioned? I would also double check that your corners look exactly like the photographs before stitching.
Sew Much Ado - I wish I were like you and could sew beautifully. I did cut my fabric 6 inches smaller but I'm fairly certain I cut 90 degrees instead of 45. I'm going to try this again. Once I sew it correctly I will be very happy with my creation. :) You are very helpful also.
I got it! My husand helped me get the angle correct. Yeah! I'm so glad I kept at it.
I made several of these blankets for a fundraiser for a friend who has just been diagnosed with cancer. They were a success. Thank you for this excellent tutorial! You are very talented!
I did the same thing as Julia also. Is there anyway to fix it if you already cut the fabric at the wrong angle?
Where was this a week ago?!?! I made my daughter a new silky because she lost hers (aka the world has come to an end) and I didn't know the proper term to search for to figure out how to do this binding! I just gave it my best shot. Didn't turn out horrible, but definatley going to bookmark this page for the future.
From one instructor to another, this is an EXCELLENT tutorial!
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