This flannel receiving blankets tutorial is a collaboration between JOANN and I. All opinions are my own.
I spent over an hour just grazing the selection of flannels at JOANN before I could finally decide what to get for my flannel receiving blankets. It was actually very enjoyable. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I brought these beauties home and whipped them up into some adorable receiving blankets. I’m sharing how you can do the same. I’m specifically going over my three most favorite ways. #handmadewithjoann
Before we get started with the sewing, let’s just take a moment to appreciate how amazing these prints are. And there are dozens more that are just as cute. It was so hard just to pick a few, but I found some girly ones with coordinating colors so I could give them as a set. (I’m seriously considering going back to JOANN so I can make something large enough for my older boys’ twin sized beds.)
Elephant Print / Cactus Print / Farmers Market Print
For all three blankets, I had the associate at JOANN cut the fabric as long as it is wide. Each of these flannel bolts were 42 inches wide, so they were all cut 42 inches long. This creates a square that’s ready to be sewn, that way, you don’t have to do it at home.
Sew Flannel Receiving Blankets Using a Serger
The fastest way to sew flannel receiving blankets, is to use a serger. If you have a serger and you know how to use it, it only takes about 10 minutes to finish a blanket. I like to round my corners so I can go around the entire thing in one quick seam. To do this, I fold my fabric into quarters, then use a rotary cutter to round the edges. This makes it so all the edges are the same, and it allows you to cut them all at once instead of four different times.
Once your corners are trimmed, simply serge around the entire border of the blanket.
I really love how clean the edges are when you use a serger. It’s also nice that this blanket is a single layer, so it can be used without the baby getting too hot.
*If you like the serged finish, but don’t have a serger, you can use an overcasting foot and an overcasting stitch on a regular sewing machine to get a similar look. Be sure to have all your edges nice and straight before overcasting since the machine doesn’t trim the edges like a serger does. Here’s an example of what it will look like.
How to Sew a Baby Blanket With a Rolled Hem
There is something super satisfying about a crisp, rolled hem. I originally tried to use my rolling hem foot, but found it too difficult to maneuver around the corners (I may need a wider rolling hem foot). Luckily, it’s really easy to roll the hem by hand. If you are a perfectionist, you can roll the edge up once, press it, then roll it up again to enclose the raw edge, press again, and then pin. If you’re like me and you enjoy living on the edge, you can roll it by hand as you sew.
I basically flipped the raw edge in about a third of an inch, then a third of an inch again, holding it steady as I sewed. Once I got to the corners, I cut diagonally across it to minimize the bulk before beginning on the next side–you can see this below.
This little trick makes your corners thinner, so they aren’t as bulky. Look how smoothly the rolled hem transitions around this corner.
This is not as fast as serging, but still pretty quick if you roll it by hand.
How to Sew Double-Sided Flannel Receiving Blankets
Naturally, my favorite blanket is the most difficult to sew. And by “difficult” I mean that it has the most steps. Pretty much every beginning sewist should be able to pull this off (believe in yourself!!!). The first step is to make sure both of the pieces you are going to sew together are the same size. Then put them together with right sides facing.
(Snuggle is Real fabric can be found here)
Using your sewing machine, sew the entire border of the baby blanket leaving just enough room to turn the fabric right-side-out. I did about a 5/8 inch seam allowance out of habit. I trimmed the extra fabric in my seam allowance before flipping the fabric right-side-out. Be sure to push your corners all the way out.
Once it was right-side-out, I stitched around the border to kept the seams in place. I also tucked in the remaining raw edge, and continued the border seam right over it to enclose it. This is a great time to try out some of your more fun stitches on your sewing machine to make a pretty or spunky border. I did a loopy stitch on one of the edges. I like that it makes it a little eclectic, you can see it below.
Flannel Receiving Blankets Tutorial Conclusion
This was really only my second time making flannel receiving blankets like this, so I’m super interested in any tips or advice you may have. And if you make these another way, please share!! It’s such an easy project, great for beginners or teaching new learners.
