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Monday
23Jun2008

Cozy Quick Blankie: The Pattern

cosyquickblankie.cutfabric.jpg

This blanket is a 32-inch square when finished.
Pre wash, dry and iron both fabrics.

Cut the shot cotton to a 32-inch square.  Cut the fleece to a 31 3/4-inch square (it is smaller than the shot cotton to allow you to see where you are placing the rick rack in the step below).  If you need help with this step, please see our Rotary Cutting tutorial.

cosyquickblankie.alignricra.jpg

In order to sew the rick rack inside the seam you must carefully line up the rick rack between the fleece and the cotton.  To do this, place the shot cotton on a surface with the right side facing up.  Place the rick rack around edge of the cotton with the tips of the rick rack lining up exactly with the edge of the cotton. 

cosyquickblankie.cornerricr.jpg 

See how we've turned the corner with the Rick Rack which makes a neat edge once turned right side out. 

Place the fleece on top of the cotton and the rick rack with the right side facing down.  Since you have cut the fleece smaller than the cotton, it will expose 1/8-inch of the shot cotton and rick rack on all 4 sides so you can make sure everything is still lined up before sewing.

cosyquickblankie.pinricrac.jpg

Pin the cotton, rick rack and fleece together every 3 rick rack tips.  In my opinion you can never use too many pins when doing this kind of technique!  Another note:  I learned to put the pin heads to the left of the sewing machine foot, but its perfectly correct to place them to the right as well.

Make sure you remember to put the walking foot on your machine at this point since the fleece is knit and will stretch and gather without it.  The walking foot works wonders!  

Now sew a 1/4-inch seam using a basic straight stitch. The goal is for the seam to go exactly down the middle of the rick rack so half is exposed when you turn it right side out. 

You will need to leave an opening of approximately 6-inches to turn the blanket right side out.  Make sure you back stitch on both sides of the opening to make this area strong when turning right side out.

Snip the corners before turning right side out to avoid bulky, messy looking corners. 

Turn blanket right side out.  Push out the corners with your finger so that they aren't too blunt.

cosyquickblankie.finishseam.jpg

At the 6-inch opening, fold both fleece and cotton under to create a 1/4-inch hem, tuck the rick rack into place.  Iron the hems so they stay put.  At the same time, iron the entire blanket so that the edges are crisp to prepare for top stitching (which makes the rick rack stand out more)

cosyquickblankie.pinfinalse.jpg

Pin the fleece, rick rack and cotton together.

cosyquickblankie.topstitche.jpg

Sew with the fleece side facing up, and top stitch around all 4 sides.  Remember to thread the machine with natural color thread to match the fleece on top and have yellow thread in the bobbin to match the cotton side underneath.  I recommend top stitching approximately 1/4-inch in from the edge.  When you reach the 6-inch opening that you left to turn the project right side out, top stitch approximately 1/8-inch from the edge so that you are catching the rick rack as you go along. ( I recommend just gradually decreasing the top stitch distance from the edge as you get closer to the opening and then gradually increase the distance after you pass the opening.)

Iron the entire blanket and it's good to go.  Enjoy!

cosyquickblankie.beauty.jpg 

Reader Comments (22)

I love this! So simple and beautiful, and what a great gift this would be! Thanks for the excellent tutorial :)
June 23, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterConcha
I love these style of blanket- so many options!

I am too worried about shifting ric rac so the scaredy cat way I sew the ric rac is to baste it in place first and then when I stitch the fabrics together I stitch on the same line as the basting.
June 23, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterheather hales
Thanks for the tutorial. I love this blanket and think I might can actually manage to make one with my limited skills and time.
June 24, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterKate
very nice and simple project to do. thank you for sharing this project.
June 24, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterjeannie
I love this blanket. I usually make a little blanket for baby shower gifts. This looks like a great one to throw into the mix. I can't wait to try it!
June 24, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterLeAnne
What a lovely blanket!! I love it! The eggpress print is lovely too. Is that a card or a "real" print?
June 24, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterValerie
I have 1 1/2 yards of the fleece bought on a whim and now I know! Thanks.
June 24, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterRobin
I just want to confirm that your top stitching will make an arc towards the outside edge for the 6 inches that you leave open? Does it look a little goofy to have the top stitching not be a consistent 1/4" edge, or did I misunderstand the directions? It is such a beautiful pattern, and I am new to sewing, so I want to make sure that I understand! ;) Thanks for all the great patterns and tutorials!
June 24, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterKate
Is the organic fleece sold out? I can't seem to access it.

Thanks:)
June 26, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterLisa
i love this cozy little blanket. do the two sides seperate from eachother?
June 26, 2008 | Unregistered Commentermichelle
Dear Lisa,
The fleece is temporarily sold out, but more will be available soon. In the meantime, you might also try the organic sherpa from Michael Miller, it is also very, very soft, plush and cozy. You can find it here:
http://purlsoho.com/purl/products/fabricdetail/3724
June 26, 2008 | Registered Commenterpurl bee
Dear Michelle,
The two sides do pull apart, but unlike a quilt that isn't quilted properly, the fabrics do not shift around.
June 26, 2008 | Registered Commenterpurl bee
Dear Kate,
The top stitching does shift a bit at the 6" opening, but its subtle. You could also work your top stitching closer to the edge the entire way around the blanket if you'd prefer it to be more even.
June 26, 2008 | Registered Commenterpurl bee
I just stopped in the shop last night and bought material and supplies to make two blankets. This will be my first foray into sewing again in a very long time. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :)
June 27, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterhsp
It's perfect! I love the simplicity and playfulness of it. I've always thought rick rack was adorable (probably reminds me of my childhood in the 70's) but was afraid to use it. This will be my great leap. Thanks for the help.
June 28, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterAmy
Thank you for this post. It's a lovely blanket.

I am trying to make a blanket one without the ric rac but am having a heck of a time getting the edges to line up after having pre-washed the fabrics. The fleece is curling up like crazy and I just can't get it to match up with the regular cotton. At this point, I think I'm going to have to just waste some precious inches off the sides to get them to match up.

Any tips?
June 30, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterasr
I love the soft blanket.....but the lamb is to die for? Care to share where the sweet thing came from?

Susan
June 30, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterSusan Jonsson
ASR,
We always recommend washing and drying fabric prior to cutting it to the desired size for this very reason. The fabrics often go wonky! In your case, I would iron the fabrics as flat as you can and then square them up again by cutting off whatever is necessary, as you suggested. It will still be just as cozy!
--- Page
July 2, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterPage
Susan,

The lamb was a gift for Coco when she was born. It is a Steiff animal. Read about the wonderful world and history of Steiff at this link:

http://www.steiffusa.com/AboutSteiff/Foundation.aspx

Here is the link to purchase the exact lamb.

http://www.steiffusa.com/SteiffStore/productdetail.aspx?productid=033353

--Page
July 2, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterPage
Thanks, Page.

For everyone else inspired by the softness of the fleece AND the lovely lamb, I found more inspiration! Wouldn't this pattern be adorable in the fleece?

http://www.patternbee.com/FREELAMBKIN.html
July 3, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterasr
Quick question:

Just broke out my inherited sewing machine for the very first time to discover I DON'T have a walking foot and I don't have time to get one for this particular blanket.

Any tips for sewing this without the specialized foot? Will I run into major problems? (Sewing on a very basic Kenore machine.)

Thanks!
July 15, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterhsp
I just finished this and it turned out fabulous! Thank you for the pattern!

http://kundhicreative.com/lincolnblog/?p=599
November 17, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterjulie kundhi

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