New Baby...New Blanket

A new baby in the family  - and time to make a baby blanket.   This blanket was created for my new great-great niece.   Through the years my sister's children, and their children, and now their children have called their blankets "lola".   Back in the 1980's I started making blankets for gifts for family and friends...and here is the latest.   I love that so many of the blankets are still tucked away even though the babies are now young adults.   Here is the process of how the blankets come to be...

In years past I was able to find "quilt panels" that often featured a nursery theme.   Sadly, they are no longer being manufactured - or if they are, I cannot find them.   So, I chose a plain pink pre-quilted fabric.  I used a washable marker to write the name and birthday  - and then embroidered it with a simple chain stitch.   Each stitch is a little prayer and wish for the new baby!

Next is to find a backing fabric to "re-quilt " over the back of the blanket to hide any embroidery stitches that show through...and to provide a comfy fabric to add warmth.   While out shopping for fabric I sent my wonderful husband down another aisle in the fabric store to look for a backing fabric....and since he is still over the moon that the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl he thought the fabric pictured above would be a good choice.

I was able to talk him out of the football theme and found this adorable flannel fabric for the backing.   I marked 4 inch lines down the length of the quilt and machine stitched through all layers to hold everything together.

This can be a little tricky to keep straight lines as the fabric bunches up as the work goes on.   Turning the quilt around and doing it from another direction frees up the fabric to move through the machine easier.

Then the raw edges are bound with satin blanket binding - while this is a little slippery to work with it seems the babies love the feel of the satin - and that's the whole point.  Making a blanket they will love to cuddle with for years to come.

Here are some photos of blankets from the past....

First one I made...I made a pillow, too!

Back then I used regular quilt binding....

I loved when I was able to find the panels with decorative ideas...

These babies are all grown up now....

But, as long as there are new babies in our family I know I will continue to make the blankets!

Do you have any traditions you create when a new baby is born?  Thanks for stopping by today...please leave a comment - and have a great day!