Are you looking for a perfect baby shower gift? Then we have the ideal sewing project for you! Follow this step by step tutorial and learn to sew a patchwork quilt for a baby (or a bigger one for adults!). With your choice of fabric, you can personalise this blanket to make a heartfelt and practical baby shower gift!
The blanket is made up of lots of small squares, making it the perfect project for beginners and experienced sewists alike!
Materials for your Patchwork Baby Blanket
What you’ll need:
- 0.5m* of cotton fabric for the patches (like the panda fabric)
- 0.5m* of cotton fabric with a contrasting pattern (like the triangle fabric)
- 1m* of cotton fabric for the back of the blanket
- 1m* of fleece filling
- A sewing machine
- An iron and an ironing board
- Thread, needles, pins
- Cutting mat, rotary cutter, ruler (optional but very helpful!)
*Note: You can use more or less fabric depending on how big you want your blanket to be!
We’ll start by cutting the fabric. It’s a good idea to iron your fabric before each step so that it will be easier to work with!
Take your two fabrics for the patchwork and cut 24 15cm x 15cm squares of fabric from both patterns. Here, we include a seam allowance of 1cm on each side of the squares so after sewing, your squares will measure around 13cm x 13cm.
It’s best to use a rotary cutter, a ruler and a cutting mat to cut the fabric. This will ensure you’ll have straight lines without any zigzags. It is just as easy to use a pair of scissors but it will take more time!
After this, you should have 48 15 x 15cm squares to form the 8 x 6 rows in the blanket. If you decide to change the arrangement of your squares, make sure you adjust the size of the back and filling of the blanket accordingly. Remember to alternate between the two different fabrics, so that you end up with a lovely contrasting pattern!
You can now start sewing every row, placing each square side-by-side with the one before it. You should have a seam allowance of 1cm. Remember to close your seams with a backstitch at the beginning and end to make sure your piece is more secure.
After this, you should have 6 rows of 8 squares (or 8 rows of 6 squares).
Iron the back of each row so that the seam allowances are flush with the rest of the fabric at the back of the patchwork. This way, the rows will be better combined in the next step.
Then align the rows one at a time, with each side by side with the previous one.
Continue in the same way with a seam allowance of 1cm, closing all the seams and sewing the rows together side by side. Don’t forget to alternate your rows so you create the patchwork effect!
When you have finished this step, you can iron the seams again. You could add a label or custom embroidery here to make your gift even more special!
You can now attach your fleece filling with the patchwork you’ve just made. Lay a piece of filling big enough to cover the patchwork underneath it. Secure with pins and lay on a large surface so nothing can slip while you’re sewing. If you’re using a fusible filling, you can use the iron to attach it now.
To secure the filling to the patchwork, sew each row widthways and lengthways. You should finish up with seams that form a square around each patch.
Only the back of your blanket left to go! After ironing your fabric, place it on the other side of the fleece filling and secure it with pins.
Now, start sewing all around the edges of your blanket! Make sure you stitch the patchwork, the back and the filling together about 1cm from the edge of the patchwork. Leave an opening of about 20cm so you can turn your blanket the right away around.
Cut off the excess filling and fabric outside of the seam.
Now the blanket can be turned back the right way around through the opening you left.
Fold the edges of the opening so that they align with the rest of the blanket and iron them.
And we’ve arrived at the last seam! You can now close up the blanket – sew a stitch the around the entire perimeter of the blanket, close enough to the edge. This will secure everything and give the blanket a cleaner finish!
And there you have it! The perfect baby shower gift is ready to go! You will bring a smile to the face of those parents-to-be in your life with this beautiful handmade blanket.
Make sure to check out the Makerist Facebook and Instagram pages for more gift ideas and DIY inspiration. Use the hashtag #makeristcom to show us your completed blankets!
