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Ric-Rac Blanket

08/24/2011 Adrianne Surian 17 Comments

My daughter has begun to show some of her quirks, which is just fascinating to me.  She’s already growing into her own person.  It’s just amazing.

Well, one of them is that she likes to rub her blanket on her face when she’s tired.  Completely adorable… and it completely freaks me out to leave her alone in her bed with a big blanket.  I have been giving her a burp cloth, which has been doing the trick so far, but I wanted something prettier.


So I thought I’d make her a girly little security blanket.  Hey, if she’s going to develop a habit of dragging anything around with her, I’d prefer it be something I took pride in.

I normally make these baby blankets in a 36×44 size, but I wanted a nice small snuggly one, so I opted for 22 inches square.  I settled on that size calculating that one package of ric-rac is 90 inches, so I would need just one. 

Ric-Rac Baby Blanket

Time: 1 hour of prewashing and prep, but you can get this started before naptime. :)  1 hour of actual sewing.

Supplies

  • basic sewing supplies
  • 2 coordinating cotton prints/cotton flannel.  I do not recommend beginners sewing with both minky (or anything stretchy) AND ric-rac in the same project.  It can be done, but master one skill before adding the other. :)  I cut my cottons to 22″x22″, but feel free to make yours whatever size best suits your needs.
  • jumbo ric-rac – one package is fine for 22×22, but do the math first.  Add all four of your sides together, and add about 4″ to that number to be on the safe side.

If your fabric comes out of the dryer wrinkly, you may want to iron it.  I didn’t, I just took a few extra minutes to smooth it out well.

Cut your front and backside pieces to your desired size.  Everything pictured here is of course 22x 22.  I cut my pieces together, so that I know they are exactly the same size.

I wanted rounded corners.  Not only do I like the look, but I find they are easier to work with ric-rac when they are rounded.  But it’s your choice!

To round the corners evenly, I have a bowl I like.  (This is when it’s helpful to craft in the kitchen.)

You can either trace along the edge, or what I do is just press down and give the bowl a twist, so that it makes a ring in my flannel, giving me a nice trim line to cut off:

Then, set your backside piece aside, and get out your ric-rac.

Start along one of the sides of your topside piece.  You don’t want to have to mess with overlapping the ends on a corner if you don’t have to.  You can pin if you like, but I don’t bother – just lay the ric-rac so that the center of it lines up with your seam allowance (I normally stitch 3/8 inch seams but use whatever you’re comfortable with).  Then stitch directly down the middle of your ric-rac, right onto the right side of your topside piece. 

Yes, it looks wrong.  I find that nearly everything I make looks wrong at some point, but {usually} turns out fine.

When you get to the point of overlapping your ends, make sure the ends point off the edge of your top piece.  This is hard to describe and hard to show you, but take a look:

You want those ends to be completely off the edge of your top piece.  So push them to the right, and stitch them down securely.

Now, lay your underside and top pieces together, with their right sides facing.

If you plan to add a label, it’s not too late! :)

Now, place your topside-piece up, so that you can follow along your ric-rac stitch line. 

Start along one of your sides, and backstitch, and when you get back to this side, leave a hole about 4-5″ for turning your blanket.  Backstitch again right before the hole.  This is SO much easier to turn on a side rather than on a corner.

My hole ended up a little small, I like to be able to get my whole hand in there.  But fortunately it still worked. :P

Now reach in (if you can) and pull it right-side-out. 

Find your hole and pin it shut.

Smooth the edges really well.  This is a step not to hurry, or your ric-rac won’t show as well as it can.  Iron everything out flat.  There’s no picture of this because I have to iron in my bathroom, and no one wants to see that. :P  Now topstitch close to the edge, first over your hole, and then all the way around your blanket.

That’s it, you’re done!  Now admire your handiwork, and then share it with a little cutie in your life!

I link to these fabulous parties!

Sewing Projects, Tutorials

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Comments

  1. rebekahdawn says

    08/24/2011 at 2:04 pm

    Very, very cute. I love the fabric you used.
    Rebekah

    Reply
  2. Ty and Whitty says

    08/24/2011 at 2:54 pm

    so pretty thank you for the tutorial I would love to do this for a girlie blanket. Thank you so much for sharing and for linking up to Show and Share #2. I hope you are having fun at the party :)

    A mommy's life…with a touch of YELLOW
    tyandwhitneyulrich.blogspot.com

    Reply
  3. Carol-Anne (Use the Good Dishes!) says

    08/25/2011 at 1:57 am

    So cute! What a nice idea and it's something she'll have that reminds her of you! (wish I could sew!)

    Reply
  4. btanders says

    08/25/2011 at 3:26 pm

    So cute! I recently made one of these too and LOVE how it turned out! What an easy way to make a creative blanket!

    Reply
  5. Keri says

    08/25/2011 at 4:30 pm

    Oh, this is so cute! And you made it look easy. I have a friend who just found out she's having a girl so now I know what to make for the shower!

    Reply
  6. Kellie Hudson Bowling says

    08/25/2011 at 5:30 pm

    Cute girlie blanket! I'm not crafty at all…but you make it look “sew” easy!! New follower from Thirsty for Comments Thursday Blog Hop! Check my blog out at http://happybabychronicles.com and http://babm8krs.wordpress.com.

    Reply
  7. Ladybird Ln says

    08/26/2011 at 11:36 pm

    Very cute, this is a project I have seen, and have always wanted to do but never have… Thank you so much for the easy tutorial! I am sure I will use it in the future!!

    Carlee
    http://www.ladybirdln.com

    Reply
  8. Zindra says

    08/27/2011 at 4:55 pm

    Where'd you get the mommy loves you label?? Love the idea of adding something personalized to a blanket or quilt :D

    Reply
  9. Amber says

    08/29/2011 at 1:11 am

    SEW CUTE!!! I want one for me now! thanks for coming to link up at this week's weekend wow me party. Hope to see you next weekend!

    Reply
  10. Chef in Training says

    08/30/2011 at 1:10 am

    this is so cute! I love it! Thanks for sharing!

    I would love it if you would share this and/or any other projects you have been up to at Tuesday Talent Show at Chef In Training Tomorrow! Plus there is going to be a fun giveaway too! Thanks so much and I hope to see you there!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  11. Mimi says

    08/30/2011 at 3:51 pm

    Love the fabric you used and I am a big fan of Ric Rac! This is beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing this and the wonderful tutorial!

    Reply
  12. Nicole says

    08/31/2011 at 6:52 pm

    So cute! I'm featuring this on Thrifty Thursday this week!

    Reply
  13. The Ellis' says

    08/31/2011 at 10:07 pm

    How cute! I can't wait to make some of these! These turned out so great! We would love for you to share this at our weekly link party this Saturday. We have an awesome jewelry giveaway going on right now, too! Come stop by!

    http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com/2011/08/paparazzi-giveaway-and-at-home-job.html

    Love,
    The Sisters @ http://www.sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com

    Reply
  14. Jami says

    09/04/2011 at 9:25 pm

    Great blanket tutorial! Thanks so much for linking it up to the Tuesday To Do Party! Can't wait to see what you've been up to this week!
    Smiles!
    Jami
    http://www.blackberryvine.blogspot.com

    Reply
  15. Sherry says

    09/05/2011 at 5:54 am

    This is such a beautiful and simple idea that I haven't seen before (with the ric rac). I'm gonna have to make one of these at some stage :-)

    Reply
  16. Chef in Training says

    09/06/2011 at 2:40 am

    This is so pretty! And I love the ric-rac! Thanks so much for linking up to Tuesday Talent Show! I would love to have you stop by and link up again tomorrow with more great projects!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  17. *katie says

    09/11/2012 at 1:20 pm

    Super, super cute! And great tutorial…I think I may just be able to do this!

    Reply

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Hello, and welcome! I'm Adrianne, an artist, author, designer, and blogger in mid Michigan. I work from home, chase my two kids, and this once-city-girl is learning how to care for chickens and adjusting to life out in the country. I have a compulsion for daily creativity... sometimes it's jewelry-making, paper crafting, metal stamping, mixing and baking, or giving new life to recycled items. But with 2 young kids, time is short! My goal here at Happy Hour Projects is to share projects and tips that you can do in an hour or less. The ideas you find here are designed to add a little creativity in your day, no matter how much (or how little) time you have!

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