I feel so lucky to actually know today's hilarious guest-blogger in person. Cami of You Seriously Made That!? cracks me up, both in real life and in her posts. We're both expecting (just 6 weeks apart) and she's starting to post fun baby projects that I'm planning on stealing--like this no-hemstitch receiving blanket tutorial. It's hard to pay for those little holes to get poked in your fabric, especially when you just paid an arm and a leg for it! Check this out. . .
Crocheted Blanket: No Hemstitching Needed!!
I absolutely love making large receiving blankets for friends who are having babies.
They take forever to make, but so worth it. And oh so practical (which I love)
I'm too lazy (and cheap) to go get my blankets hemstitched, but with this tutorial, you will never need to hemstitch your receiving blankets again because I came up with a cute and easy solution...
okay okay, my MOM came up with a cute an easy solution. She's smarter than me anyways.
Crocheted Receiving Blanket Tutorial
Materials:
1 1/2 yards of flannel (fun print)
1 1/2 yards of flannel (corresponding print)
Sewing Machine, pins, scissors etc.
# 10 cotton string
Small Crochet Hook (size 1)
# 10 cotton string
Small Crochet Hook (size 1)
Step 1: Cut and Sew
Grab both pieces of flannel, and cut two identical large squares. Mine ended up 42x42, but yours can be bigger or smaller, depending on the width of your fabric. It's easiest when you use a rotary blade, but you can get away with scissors.
Line up both pieces of fabric, right sides together, and pin it in place, and sew with a 1/4 inch seam.
If you want a rounded edge, line a can up with the corners of the fabric, and trace with a pencil. That'll give you a good idea on where you need to sew.
Once you've finished, trim, and cut notches into the rounded corners (makes it sit nice and flat once you've turned it right side out). Then turn it!
Step 2: Blanket Stitching
Before blanket stitching it, you're gonna need to iron all the edges nice and flat.
Set your blanket stitch to the largest settings, and sew around the entire perimeter of the blanket. This will also stitch up the hole you left to flip the blanket.
Grab your needle and thread, and use that machine stitching as a guideline (see pictures below for example). For instructions on how to create a blanket stitch, go HERE
Step 3: Crochet Edge.
Alright. Here's where we get a little complicated. There are TWO rounds or crocheting.
Round 1: 2 single crochets on each blanket stitch. Don't make tight stitches or your blanket will bunch up weird Sometimes I do 3 stitches around the corners. Totally up to you.
Round 2: 4 half double crochets, skip stitch, single crochet, repeat. This is gonna create a really cute shell stitch. At the end, tie off, and hide the ends of your string by weaving them into your crocheted shells.
Yeah..this is where most of my crocheting occurs...My husband HATES when I put my feet on the dashboard... but how else am I supposed to crochet?!
And that's it! Now you have the perfect baby shower gift, without having to get it hemstitched.
Now you too can waste hours and hours of your life like the rest of us crazy crocheters.
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16 Responses to “no-hemstitch crochet edge receiving blanket {birthday bash tutorial}”
great tutorial, thanks for sharing
this is really clever, props to your mom!
i love the pattern on that fabric. adorable!
I am having a giveaway! Come check it out and enter to win :)
http://peaceloveandtwinkies.blogspot.com/2011/07/meet-dreaming-of-paris-giveaway.html
Love this, it really brings the receiving blanket up a level or two. The next friend of my that gets preggers is definitely getting one of these!
SO pretty--and the crochet edge looks so delicate!
Absolutely brilliant! I love, love, love this idea! I have one question though... you said use the blanket stitch as a guideline.. so are you basically putting your thread right over that stitching so that it doesn't show?
Wow I love this thanks..I dont have blanket stitch on my machine..It has every other stitch in the world but that one! But I am still going to do this I have a ton of flannel. Thanks for the great tutorial!
Wow! What perfect timing. I just bought some hemstitched flannel bibs or burp cloths or something from a friend online and had NO IDEA how to do the crochet on the edge (figured it was a great reason to learn), now I do! Thanks!
This is a really cool tutorial, it looks awesome. :)
I have a baby. I have lots of blankets. But I have never managed to work out what a 'receiving blanket' is for. Please take pity on me and explain!
I use a wing/hemstitch needle that I got at JoAnns to make the holes for crocheting. I use a zigzag stretch stitch (the stretch makes it hit each hole twice and makes the hole a little larger). The holes aren't as big as regular hemstitching, but it works really well! And the price is right!
I use a wing needle, too, but I just do a straight stitch, and crochet the first round with a pointy hook. You don't need a big hole, just the start of one to push through. Love the blanket stitch, though--I'm going to have to try that!
thank you so much for sharing this tutorial! it's so hard to find (affordable) hemstitched fabric to crochet a boarder on! THANK YOU!!!
just wanted to say thank you for this tutorial. i did it.
you're welcome to take s look although it's all in Hebrew.
:)
http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/net/viewentry.aspx?EntryId=2176194&r=1
Awesome tutorial! Just found out in am going to be a Grandma and I am so making some of these! Thank you!
@ Stash Avalanche:
A receiving blanket is basically a blanket made for swaddling your baby. It is for wrapping them up tight to calm them down. The problem is, most receiving blankets are 30"x30" which means they only fit babies until they are about 9 months old. After that you're out of luck and all those cute LITTLE blankets are useless. That is why this making size is so great! I always make flannel receiving blankets for my pregnant friends, only I keep it really simple by just cutting it out (with the curved edges) and serging it all the way around as a single layer. Super easy, cheap and incredibly functional. With just one layer it is not too hot to drape over a car seat in the summer for shade but it is still warm enough to give some relief from chilly air. :)
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