Silky Softy Baby Blanky

Sweet babies deserve a touch of luxury and comfort and Kori is no exception.

I made two small, comfy blankets {we call them "nite-nites" in our family} this weekend. It was too cold and rainy for yard work so I had fun inside and didn't feel guilty about it. This was my first attempt at adding satin blanket binding and with a little determination, and surfing the Internet for help, I did OK!

I love how the rich pink and brown work together! There are so many styles of printed flannels to make gorgeous baby blankets with. The combinations are endless. Add that with soft, Minky fabrics... heavenly!

Here's what I used:

• 19" square printed flannel
• 19" square JoAnn's Soft N Comfy (or Minky)
• Satin blanket binding
• thread to match binding
• pins
• sewing machine

Wash and dry your fabrics first to avoid disappointing shrinkage after your hard work.

1. Pin fabrics wrong sides together.

2. Stitch around all four sides about 5/8 seam allowance. The color of the thread does not matter here - it won't show.

3. Zig-zag stictch around all four sides. This will prevent fraying after lots of loving and multiple washes {you know how baby blankets are} and adds stability to edge for applying the binding.

4. I'm not gonna lie. I had to play with this next part a bit. While I wasn't totally in love with my first attempt, the second go around was much better. You can do it!

Lay the binding narrow side-up, open the fold and tuck in your work, pinning it down the edge, working left to right.. When you reach the corner, manipulate the binding {use your best gift wrapping skills} create a 45 degree fold. Continue all around.

I snapped this picture and then realized that the binding should be pressed first to get the fold marks out of it. Oops.

You can watch this video to get the idea of how the mitered corners of blanket binding are created.

5. Zig-zag stitch the binding to the blanket {or use a regular straight stitch if you prefer}all around. When you get toward the end, tuck your binding edge under to give a nice, finished edge and stitch down to complete.

When I thought I was finished my mitered corners seemed "flappy" so I zig-zag stitched the down too. You can see my stitches in the first, top photo of Baby Sugar Lump.

The Wrights site was helpful in understanding how to add the binding in a slightly different way. I think I'll do this next time to avoid the flappiness? I'd love to know if anyone else has thoughts about this...

 The blankets turned out really cute and Kori says they taste great too! ;)

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