Thursday, October 14, 2010

Fuzzy Flower Blanket

Heidi Sage has already started to pre-school, and her school requires a blanket for nap time. I received a phone call from her mother this summer with an order for one blanket with HS's name, dimensions of the blanket needed to be 3 foot by 4 foot, and it should be double sided for warmth....oh, and she wanted it red to match her school bag and bedroom. (Her mother is only slightly particular!)

So, I started thinking of different ways to make Heidi Sage's blanket. I decided it would need some flowers to make sure it was girly and later in the project I decided to add a purse and high heel to make sure it was REALLY girly. The purse was also to serve a purpose, but I'll get to that in a bit.

I used fleece for the blanket and also for the appliques. Little ones tend to love how soft and cozy fleece is. I first made some simple paper flower patterns and cut my flowers from different colors of fleece.

































All the appliques were sewed on by hand. I used embroidery thread to sew on my appliques. I used the six strand thread and divided it into three strands. I used a blanket stitch for attaching each of the appliques. I sewed on the flower centers first before attaching the flowers to the blanket.  Click here for a quick video on how to do a blanket stitch!
































I monogrammed Heidi Sage's name in one corner and added some flowers around her name. If you don't have a monogramming machine and you want it personalized, you can always just leave space and then take it to a local sewing store, boutique, or other shop that has a machine. Make sure to shop around. You can find people who will do it out of their house for as cheap as $5/piece...and others who are really proud of their ability to push buttons and center things!
















On the opposite corner I decided to add THE purse. Our Heidi Sage doesn't go more than five minutes without a pacie in her mouth, and she sure never takes a nap without one. So, in order to make sure she always had one for nap time, the blanket was made to hold extra pacies. And I added a shoe just for fun. A girl can never have to many shoes in our family! I found a simple purse pattern online and attached the flap onto the purse so it could open and close.





















After all the appliques were finished I added the back piece of fabric and used the sewing machine to sew the two pieces together.


















Courtney has reported the blanket gets softer and cozier with every washing!

NOTE: This could also easily be for a boy just by finding some simple dinosaur or truck patterns. The possibilities are many....the cuteness is endless!

Stay warm!



1 Shout Outs:

Cathy Barnes

Hi Debra, First of all, I just love your daughter, Courtney! She has such a creative gift...and I see where she gets it! This blanket is adorable! I am looking foward to all your projects!