Easy Baby Blanket

One of my good teacher friends at school is expecting his first grandchild in June. I wanted to surprise him with a gift for the baby and wanted to make something that his son and wife will hopefully like and appreciate. I ended up making a baby blanket.

I purchased 3 1/2 yards of baby flannel at JoAnne’s. I bought extra because I had a feeling it would shrink when I pre-washed it. After washing and drying the flannel, I ironed it. I then folded it in half so the wrong sides were together. I used my quilting squares and rotary cutter to make sure that the ends were square. I then pinned blanket binding to each of the four sides. You can see in the picture below that I mitered the corners.

I used the same fabric on both sides but there’s no reason why you couldn’t use a different fabrics.

I used a zig–zag stitch to attach the binding.

I added a fabric label that my mother-in-law had made for me years ago. I didn’t notice until I was finished stitching it into place that it is a little crooked. I was too lazy to fix it and I doubt that anyone will notice.

I hope the new parents and grandparents like it!

I’m going to make two more of these for gifts. I’m going to experiment with the binding and try doing the corners differently. I’ll let you know if I like my second method better than the first.