Molly's Sketchbook: Lap Duvet
In March 2012 I made a new Flannel version of these duvets! Sophisticated and elegant they use a mix of subtle Japanese Linen Blend Solids and ultra soft Ecrulet Flannel Stripes. The combination of fabrics is so plush and inviting that when I was all done, I felt like I had five puffy clouds on my desk. Everyone who walked by wanted to sink right into them!
Materials for the Flannel Version
To make one 58 X 42-inch blanket:
- 1 3/4-yards Ecrulet Flannel Stripes in Grey
- 1 3/4-yards of a Kiyohara Linen Blend Solid. I used, from top to bottom in the materials pic above: Violet Grey, Lavender, Denim, Light Beige, and Brown.
- A throw sized Wool Batting
- 100% cotton thread in color 3170. For this version of this project I used the same thread in the top and the bobbin.
Even in the mild Spring weather I still find myself reaching for a blanket if I am reading or watching a movie on the couch at night. This is a problem because, until now, I didn't have any throw sized blankets, only gigantic bed sized quilts which aren't very convenient when you have to fold them back up at the end of the night.
At a recent Purl Bee meeting Page mentioned that she was having the same issue and the idea for this project was born! We decided to make a very quick, very simply quilted lap blanket using a technique that Joelle used in the "Super Quick + Easy Baby Quilt" project from her book, Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts.
We also decided to use some of our favorite new fabric from designer Naomi Ito's Nani Iro line. These prints are beyond gorgeous. They have a unique painterly quality and come in the most beautiful colors. The fabric itself is a soft double gauze perfect for a Spring project. The wool batting I used made this piece feel so lofty that it in the end it seemed more like a fluffy duvet than a regular blanket.
This is my absolute favorite kind of sewing project: useful, beautiful, and quick. I actually timed it and it turns out that the entire project takes less than 2 and a half hours from start to finish. It would make a great housewarming gift and best of all you could whip it up on the afternoon of the housewarming party!
Materials
To make one roughly 58-inch by 42-inch blanket:
- Two 1 3/4-yards pieces of Nani Iro Fabric. I usedRainbow Pocho for Fabric A and Grey Saaa Saa for Fabric B the example duvet. (The purple duvet is made from Purple Fuwari and Lavendar Pocho. The orange and pink duvet is made from Orange Fuwari and White Fuwari)
- A throw sized Wool Batting
- A spool 100% cotton thread to match each fabric
Cutting and Sewing Together
Cut each of the fabrics to be 60-inches long. Do not cut the selvages.
Press both of them flat.
Lay Fabric A down, right side up and smooth it so there are no wrinkles. Do this along a clean surface large enough for the entire piece of fabric (I used my just-vacuumed living room floor.)
Then lay Fabric B fabric on top of Fabric A, wrong side up. In this case the striped fabric is slightly narrower than the dot fabric (it will be different for each fabric.) Center the striped fabric so that selvages of the wider fabric are poking out about 1/2-inch on either side.
Cut along the sides of the wider fabric to match it up with the more narrow fabric. If the pieces aren't exactly the same length trim them to match.
Lay the batting on top of the fabrics. Cut it to match the fabrics in the same manner as you did for fabrics.
Pin these three layers together along all four sides.
Using your machine's walking foot and the lighter of the threads sew around all four pinned sides with a 6/8-inch seam allowance leaving an 8-inch gap in the middle of one of the short sides.
Clip off the corners.
Turn the blanket right sides out through the gap. The right sides of both fabric will be facing out, the batting will be on the inside, and the seams will be hidden. Poke the corners out so they are nice and pointy.
Pin the gap closed with the raw edges on the inside of the blanket and handstitch it closed with a blindstitch.
Quilting
Press the duvet on both sides and smooth it down on the flat surface again. Make sure that there are no major wrinkles.
Pin a safety pin through all three layers of the duvet every 7-inches along the entire area. Measure as shown above starting with a pin that is 7-inches from the top and 7-inches from the side. The next pin will be placed 7-inches to the right of this one, the next one 7-inches below the first, etc.
Repeat this until the entire duvet is pinned every 7-inches
Using the thread to match Fabric B in the bobbin and the Thread to match Fabric A in the top insert the duvet into the machine with the Fabric A side facing up. Using the machine's walking foot, quilt the duvet together at the pinned points using a bar tacking stitch, or a very short and wide zig zag. Remove the safety pins as you come to them.
The small quilting stitches will be almost invisible but will create a cozy tufted duvet.
Stitch in this manner at each pinned point, trim any excess threads, press one more time, and you're all done! Enjoy! --Molly
May 25, 2011
Reader Comments (48)
This project can be washed in the machine because the batting is made from Superwash wool. Thanks for your question!-
Don't know why I never thought of the smaller size. Perfect for naps on the couch when I can smush my feet under Beau, my beagle. Cait Sith, my cat, will snuggle in by my tummy and I can pull this perfect throw over my shoulders.
Great idea!
Jan
If you don't wash the fabrics before hand your fabric will pucker up a bit and shrink just a little bit. I think it will add to the tufted quality of the quilt. But if you want it to stay 100% the same as when you sewed it then yes, you should wash the fabrics first (do not wash the batting)
Thanks for your question- Molly
It would work for a larger duvet, in fact a lot of us have been talking about making them for ourselves!
Thanks for the nice question!- Molly
The fabric should be back in stock at the beginning of August (it takes a while to get here from Japan!) If you'd like to be notified when it comes in please email us at customerservice@purlsoho.com
Thank you!
B) This is so cute and easy and perfect for those of us who love blankets year round!
Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing! The duvet and your niece are both beautiful!
- Molly
A queen sized duvet is usually about 88-inches by 92-inches, although there is no real standard so you can just measure your favorite quilt or duvet and make it the same size.
You will definitely need to piece the fabric together to get it wide enough. This particular fabric is 44-inches wide so you would need at least two 2 1/2 yard pieces per side to make something queen sized. Thanks for your question!
- Molly
Congratulations from spain
These fabrics are on order if you'd like to be notified when it comes back in stock please drop us a line at customerservice@purlsoho.com
Thank you for your nice comment.
This may be a really dumb question, but I've never quilted anything before! I think I'm just missing something.
This is not a dumb question at all! To use the zig zag stitch on your machine simply go back and forth with the zig zag stitch at the marked point. You can go forwards a 1/4-inch and then backwards many times. When you cut the thread your quilting stitches will not unravel.
Hope this clarifies things. Please let us know if you have any more questions.
Thank you for your question!
- Molly
That seemed the obvious thing to do, but for some reason I was thinking it was meant to be a decorative stitch and that going back and forth would mess it up.
:)
Thank you for clarifying.
So glad this helped. The stitch is meant to be kind of invisible since you use matching thread and it's so small. Good luck!
- Molly
I'm ordering this same fabric and batting to begin the project. I intend to use the finished product as a baby gift, but when reading more about the Nani Iro double gauze fabric, someone said that it shouldn't be machine dried.
You mention that it can be machine washed, but is it okay to put it in the dryer? I want to make sure this is an easy baby blanket to care for and will choose another fabric if not.
I hope it will work - I've been gushing over this project for months and am finally pulling the trigger. Thanks!
Maika
You can wash and dry these fabric. Sometimes the labels on the fabrics are a bit cautious.
Also, the Orange Bouquet and the Orange Fuwari are indeed the same thing.
Thanks for your questions!
Molly
It doesn't seem impossible to do this without a machine but sewing the sides together through the back, front, and backing does seem a little unwieldy. But if you are a confident hand sewer I don't see why you couldn't give it a try.
Thanks for your question-
Molly
Yes you do! Thank you for pointing that out! I'll amend the pattern to explain that now.
Thanks for writing in.
Molly
You can use cotton batting, it just won't be as fluffy, but it will still be beautiful and work just the same. Here's a link to our highest loft cotton batting:
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/2051-Quilters-Dream-Natural-Supreme-Dream-Highest-Loft
Thanks for your question!
Molly
We don't but you could easily adjust it yourself if you just use larger pieces of fabric and a larger piece of batting. Just make sure you quilt it at least every 8-inches so the batting doesn't fall apart in the wash.
Thank you!
Molly
I might give it a try anyway. Unless you have some kind of super high tech machine that I don't know about the worst thing you'll do is break a needle and that is easy to replace. If it really won't go backwards you can probably use your regular presser foot. Or you could tie the duvet by hand. Instructions on tying can be found here:
http://www.purlbee.com/sunny-tied-quilt/
Thank you for your question and good luck!
Molly