Making Baby Things with 3 yards of Flannel

Around Christmas time Joann's has all kinds of irresistible sales... such as $2 a yard flannel. I don't usually buy fabric from them being that I work for a fancy fabric store (makes you sort of a fabric snob). But those little owls looked so Japaneses to me I had to give them a chance. So for a grand total of six green ones I left  with 3 yards of owls. What to do with them now ?
Last Friday I turned 30 weeks pregnant, and suddenly the thought that I haven't actually made anything for the baby pointed its ugly head. I have since entered an industrious period and here is the result of phase 1:
one square swaddling  blanket, one changing pad, two burp cloth.

A few words of explanation:
3 yds of flannel, scrap of terry cloth, contrasting cotton thread.
For the square swaddling blanket, use the width of the fabric minus the selvages as side dimension. Once you have two squares of exactly the same size, iron them right sides together and trace round corners with a pictogram pen and a plate. Cut the rounded corners to shape. Sew a half inch seam all the way around leaving a few inches for turning.
Turn the blanket, iron the seams flat, shaping the corners.
Sew a decorative stitch along the edge with a contrasting
color thread.This step will close the turning hole. I chose an heirloom stitch with a wing needle
because the motif reminded me of the XXX on the fabric. The extra thickness you get from using a 1/2 inch seam creates some stabilizing for the embroidery stitch.

For the changing pad, use as much of the left over flannel you'd like. ( Mine is about 24inch by 18 inches finished). Cut a piece of terry the same size as your flannel and repeat the same steps as for the blanket: iron, round, sew, turn, iron. This time I just topstitched the right side edges, because the terry makes a bulky seam.

For the burp cloth, I ended up with enough fabric for four equal rectangles. The process here is the exact same as for the blanket, except much faster!

In the end, you can make this set as a gift for a friend in about the time it take to watch a movie, or two episodes of Law and Order (your choice). I decided to practice my swaddling skills with the blanket on a large sock monkey. It went very well, the monkey cooperated without a sound, although his arms had a tendency to stick out. Once I picked him up however something weird happened, I felt a strange emotion, as if it was suddenly for real, the baby, all of it. I managed not to cry which is a good thing because I wasn't alone in the room... close call.

PS: A lot of great books and patterns I read have  rectangular swaddling blanket, they recommend buying 36 inches of fabric twice. I think that from what I have seen and heard from my friends babies, a square blanket works better. As we all know babies are not actually made of socks and its easier when you don't have to struggle with one arm to find out which way is which (on the blanket not the baby). On the plus side of buying 42 inches twice, the blanket ends up bigger and will be useful much longer, or so I am told...

PS: Thanks to eveyone for their super nice comments on this post. I feel really energized to make more and more. If anyone needs more in depth instructions or pictures I will be glad to provide some.

Comments

[Josie]

That is such a cute little set. What a lucky baby yours will be. I remember crying my eyes out whilst pregnant and watching A Baby Story on cable. Really there is nothing to be done but to go with it, because after all having a baby is the most amazing and wonderful thing you'll ever know. Happy New Year, I hope it is going to be a great one for you ;)

[kristin]

that fabric is so sweet...you really scored there :) i'm at 33 weeks and am in that panic mode...haven't made anything for the new babe yet either...eeeps...but you've given me a grand idea ;) thanks!! and Happy New Year!!

[Jennifer]

Sew cute!

I'm only at 23 weeks with my second. I made a lot of stuff for my first. Some of it was made after we had the babe; you know, after I learned what a baby really needs. You are correct, a square swaddle works best. And the bigger, the better! We swaddled version 2.0 until he was 9 months old in a blanket I made him with an interlocking knit. I made it as large a square as possible.

Good luck. Make more. Babes have blow outs. And the reflux-y ones spit up a lot.

[Siri]

What a sweet print to use for a baby.
I bought the very same amount of that same fabric just before the holidays as well. I was thinking of pj bottoms for me but our 5 year old son has been asking for pjs for himself out of it. Not sure quite yet who is going to win out on that one. He's a PJ fanatic and everyone knows it so, after receiving four new sets between Christmas and his early-December birthday, I'd bet he has enough to get himself through a week and a half, maybe two weeks, without wearing the same pair twice.

[Siri]

Oh, and I used A LOT of those waterproof flannelized squares (rectangles, sometimes) to use under their bottoms when changing diapers. I seem to remember that they weren't all that easy to find but JoAnn's usually carries it in white on a roll and sells it by the yard which you can then cut into the sizes that you need. We still use big pieces of it under the sheet on our sons' bed to keep any accidents from soaking through. So much nicer than a crinkly plastic-y cover.

[amanda]

what a lovely idea! and I love that owl print - I wouldn't have been able to resist it either :)

[Rebekah]

cute cute cute. I saw that fabric at Joanns the other day but passed on it because it wasn't on sale (apparently I missed the $2 flannel sale everyone's been blogging about!

Thanks for the great idea with this! I have a few friends that are expecting and these look like the perfect combo gifts to make!

Love your blog...found it through whip-up

[nava]

oh yes, bigger is certainly better! My baby outgrew his swaddling blankets the 2nd week, so we had to improvise for a bit. Luckily I had made one fairly large baby blanket for him, and so had my grandmother, so those lasted as long as he was willing to be snuggled :). Thanks for this; I think I'll be having some fun with flannel here for a bit!

[Dayna]

I fell in love with the same fabric. I bought it to make my little one some PJ pants. I love giving homemade flannel blankets to new bebes.

Love the star stitch you have going on!

[MaryG]

These baby cuddly cues are awesome. You are so crafty.

[Bianca]

That print is gorgeous and so is your little package. I've got a 3 month old and like the other Mum's who commented the bigger and squarer the wrap the better. Where did you find the flannel?

[lola]

I'm 38 weeks pregnant & my mother made myself & 2.9 old son pj pants for Christmas out of the same material. I LIVE in those pants! Maternity pants just aren't cutting it anymore.

Our store also had some fleece with similar owls on a blue background. I grabbed some of that to throw over the new one in the car.

[Jen b]

i think that is the cutest fabric i have ever seen. love it all.

[Maria]

These are the cutest things! I'm 36 weeks pregnant and in slow motion somehow with my sewing for the baby - you got me inspired to finish my work :)! I love that print!

[Nicole]

Congratulations on the new baby....Lucky baby has very talented mommy...So glad I found your blog......

[Mymsie]

And what are the approx dimensions of the blanket? 42" x 42"? Great tute - thanks!

[rhelynn]

Amazing find on that fabric!

[April]

That fabric is sooo cute! So glad I found your blog!
-A-

www.suaviloquy.blogspot.com

[Mary Glynn]

I cannot believe I have not seen this awesome site before! I LOVE IT!!! Will def be back to see it!

[Tara @ Feels like home]

I've had this post bookmarked for a while now, but I'm finally getting around to linking it up for my readers. Thanks for a great post!

[Chelsea the Yarngeek]

Absolutely awesome! My co-worker is pregnant and due in April, so I have plenty of time to make a set.

These would be great to have on hand to give as last-minute gifts. I think I may have to make several different sets with just that purpose...

[patterngirl]

I love this and the fabric is so cute! I think I'm going to go tomorrow and see if my Joann's has it. I have been looking for a flannel to make a duvet cover for my son's new toddler bed. I hope, I hope I hope!

[Nichelle]

I'm new to sewing and absolutely LOVE this idea. Could I get more detailed directions, please? Thanks!