Easy Baby Blanket Tutorial

Hey Everyone!
So not only was this weekend Memorial Weekend and the beginning of summer but it was the weekend we got to find out that our very first grand baby is going to be a BOY!!! We are beyond thrilled and can't wait for mid-October when the little guy is due to make his appearance. Of course there was a little party...gender reveal party. My son and daughter.in.law had their ultrasound earlier in the week. The ultrasound tech wrote the gender on a piece of paper and in the sealed envelope it went! The special envelope was delivered to a party store along with a huge box. Only the person who filled up the box with helium balloons, knew if our grand baby was a He or She. It was really fun and everyone had a great time guessing the gender before the box was opened.
Check it out.....  adorable, right?

Gender Reveal Party Box

 
I had to whip something "gender neutral" the night before and I thought I'd share with you. I used a piece of white fleece, about 50" x 50" but it can be any size. For the binding I used a baby bassinet sheet that was once used by my niece and cut strips from it. Here are some photos to give you an idea how super easy it is to make.

Here is the bassinet sheet. Cute little chickies!

I cut long strips about 4.5 inches wide. I wanted about a two inch binding on each side of the blanket and about a quarter inch seam allowance. It can be any size you prefer. Mine was based on how much fabric I had.

Example of sheet/binding first folded in half, then each long side for seam allowance

Folded in half and ready to attach.

Attaching the first side.

To attach the first side, I sewed right sides together (binding and blanket) about two inches from the edge. Stitching in the ditch of the binding. When I finished sewing the length of the blanket,  I would fold it over the edge to the back side to make sure no adjustments were needed. Since I ironed seams ahead of time, the binding naturally folds over to the opposite side.

Zig-Zag both sides of binding. Securing front to back.

Once the first part of binding was attached, I folded it to the back side and secured with pins. I lined up the binding edge with the stitch line that I "stitched in the ditch".  I used a long zig-zag stitch to ensure that I caught the binding on both sides. (I always check this as I stitch so that I don't have to rip out the entire edge if it's not straight!)
Believe it or not, this was my first blanket with binding. That means I did not take time to do the pretty mitered corners. (It was 9:30 pm on the evening before the party) So I did square corners- cutting and over lapping as I continued onto the next edge.

Finished Product

Here it is! Very gender neutral. Not shown but I did take a piece of my daughter.in.law's sash fabric from her bridal gown (that I made her) and embroidered the pet name we have for the baby. I attached it to the back side corner. I'm happy how it turned out and was glad to re-purpose fabric. The fleece was gifted to me from a friend that no longer sews.
I hope this was explained in a simple manner..... I can make something with 4 corners very complicated!
Next time I will do the mitered corners.  Thanks for reading.

Until Next Time,