Everybody loves a blanket
November 5, 2007
So now that I am addicted to sewing, I decided it was time to start making baby blankets for all of my friends and siblings with little ones. I’ve always loved those baby blankets with the satin bindings — you know, the kind that little fingers like to wear thin over time. But what to use as the blanket fabric?
My sister-in-law enlightened me to the existence of a fabric called “minky” or “minkee.” For those of you not in the know, minky is a very soft fabric akin to the feel of a Gund stuffed animal that comes in countless colors and textures (polka-dotted, striped etc.). So for my first project, I paired some bright yellow minky with a great novelty flannel I found at Joann’s and some satin binding, and voila!, my first blanket was born.
Well, not quite. My first attempt at sewing the binding on the two layers of fabric resulted in a good deal of puckering and the throwing of various sewing accoutrements around the room in frustration. To avoid a needle in the eye, the fiance actually made me take five on the “time out” couch before a total meltdown ensued.
After some time to reflect and some quick internet research, I realized that the top of the binding was feeding slower than the bottom of the binding. This is apparently a common problem when working with stretchy knits and slippery satin bindings. Luckily, there was a simple solution — a trip to my local sewing machine shop for a walking foot for my machine.
The walking foot worked beautifully and finally, my first baby blanket was born. This one is for my best friend daughter who is turning 3 years old in about a week. The flannel side of the blanket has a “girl power” theme — perfect for the discerning 3 year old! I am still working on mastering the mitered corners, but overall, I am pretty happy with how it came out…
Here’s a shot:
November 29, 2007 at 2:45 am
Hi there, I just happened to find your blog while doing a search on pre-shrinking minky and was cracking up at your description of throwing accoutrement around the room, that would be me! I heard a walking foot is the thing, I don’t have one yet so maybe I should buy one before even trying to sew.
Oh, I live in Denver. Thanks for the laugh.
November 29, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Thanks for your comment on my blog — and glad I was able to provide a laugh! As for a walking foot — it’s a godsend — I would not be able to make my blankets without it. I highly recommend one if you are considering doing any work with knits or slippery fabrics or any quilting through several layers of fabric.
As an aside, for the four or so blankets I have made now with minky, I have pre-shrunk the minky in a warm wash first. It doesn’t really shrink too much, so I am not even sure its really necessary, but I figured better be safe than sorry.
February 21, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Seriously, I could have written this!!!! I am trying to sew a blanket with Satin Binding for my son and so far nothing has been accomplished but me screaming, my son crying and my boyfriend laughing! I have been searching the internet for suggestions on how to sew this stuff because so far, wrestling an alligator would have been easier! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I am on my way out the door to the store to buy a WALKING FOOT!!!!
March 10, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Did you also preshink the flannel? I’ve heard it shrinks a lot, and am getting ready to make a minky and flannel baby blanket for a shower I’m attending in a few weeks.
March 11, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Hi Emily –
I always preshrink the flannel and the minky before I put the blankets together. The flannel does shrink quite a bit. I usually buy 1 yrd. of flannel for the blanket, and by the time I preshrink and cut of the selveges off the flannel fabric, the blanket ends up being about 38″ by 33″ (vs. 44″ by 36″ that the original was cut to). Hope this helps — good luck with your project!
March 11, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Hi Jaime –
Sorry it’s taken a bit to respond to your comment (see above). Hope you found the walking foot to be the solution to all of your problems! It definitely was for me! By the way — I found a great picture tutorial of how to sew a blanket binding on a blanket in the book Sewing 101. You should be able to find it on Amazon.com. It was really a huge help for me in getting the binding to look nice…especially the corners!