a blanket for Nikolas

This is my little friend Nikolas. His mom, Amy, & I have been email buddies for many years (she's one of the '96 moms gang I told you about here!) Amy is the mom to six awesome kiddos. Nikolas is #5.... & when he was born I made him a flannel baby blanket. Well apparently that blanket quickly became his favorite blankie. & recently, that blankie became too small! Nikolas wanted me to make him a bigger blankie.... so I did! I found some dinosaur flannel that was grown up just like him & made a longer blankie so he can be warm at night. Today he received it in the mail. He sure looks happy! I'm glad.


I love to make blankies for new babies. For those of you who want to know how I make them... here you go!


I buy 1 1/4 yards of 2 different flannels, one for the back & one for the front. Place the two pieces right sides together & trim them up so they are even lengthwise & widthwise. Round the corners (I usually use a small plate as a template, draw the curve on the flannel & cut the front & the back together). Now sew around the edges using a 5/8 inch seam. Leave a 6 inch opening to turn it right side out. Trim the curves & turn the blanket right side out. Press well, pressing the unstitched seam allowance in. Now topstitch all the way around about 1/4 inch in from the edge. Stitch again, 1 1/2 inches from the edge.


That's it! It makes a nice big blanket for the new baby to use for a long time (just ask Nikolas!). The blankets wash nicely & last a long time. They become too short before they wear out! Don't they Nikolas? & when they do, just make a new one, using 1 1/2 yards of fabric (or more!)


In case you are wondering, my camera is in China now! I had to borrow this picture from Amy's blog. I hear my camera (and my husband!) are having a great trip. But, I am ready for them to come home!