It's official. I finally have a friend who's having a baby boy :) I've been thinking of baby gifts for their little one and I wanted to make something football related. They are both into football, though divided (she likes the Cowboys/he likes the Redskins). Classic huh?
Since the baby is due in the colder months I though a football blanket would be quite appropriate. And what better than one made out of super soft and warm fabric?
I used my daughter to model the blanket so you could see the perfect size for a little one this is.
The shape makes it really easy to wrap around the baby too. I can just imagine a mom at a football game with little one all wrapped up in one of these with the underneath side sporting a fabric with the teams colors.
It could also be used as a play mat. Good size and super soft.
The pattern is for this smaller size, but you could easily create an even bigger one for the older football fan in your life.
My daughter was kind of cooperative this time :) See that smile? That's "haha mommy. I'm not going to put my head up for you to take pictures ;)"
Let's talk about fabric real quick. For the top, I wanted to use some of that minky fabric (this kind is minky dot fabric). I found this brown at a local fabric store. You could use fleece or flannel or even regular cotton fabric if you like. For the bottom, I used a cool green/brown hounds-tooth. But, I think it would be neat to find a print of the parent's favorite football team or something like that too. I didn't do that because their house is divided in its allegiance.
What you need:
-Pattern (
download and print from here)
-1 yard minky fabric (or other of your choice)
-1 yard flannel fabric (or other of your choice)
-1/4 yard of white fleece (or flannel or knit...it needs to be a non fraying fabric)
-Coordinating thread
-Appropriate sewing needle (I found that out of all the sizes I had, the size that worked best was an 11(75) for medium weight fabrics).
*Tip: The minky is a very slippery fabric to work with and the fleece can be really stretchy, so make sure to pin things down really good or even try using an iron on adhesive (like heat n' bond) to "stick" it on the fabric first then sew it on.
*All seams are 1/4"
1. Print out pattern pieces and cut out. They go together like this:
The odd number pages are at the top, the even ones are on the bottom.
Match up on the dotted lines and tape together.
2. Lay the 1 yard of minky down flat.
3. Fold in half long ways.
4. Fold in half again, so there are now two folds. Place pattern piece on so the two sides marked fold are placed on the fold. Cut out of fabric.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for the bottom fabric you chose.
6. Cut out these pieces from the white fleece:
- (1) piece of 14" x .75" for the long middlepart
- (6) pieces of 4" x .5" for the little pieces that go on top of long middle piece
- (2) pieces of 23" x 1.75" for the sides
7. Place the 23" x 1.75" seven inches in from the side. Pin in place. Put the long middle piece in the exact middle of the middle with the 6 little pieces evenly spread out on it. Pin in place.
8. Sew the fleece in place.
9. Now place the top football on the floor, right side facing up. Then place the bottom fabric on top, wrong side facing up. Sew the two pieces together, leaving an opening for turning right side out.
10. Turn blanket right side out. Turn in edges of where the opening was and pin in place. Then sew around the edges of the whole blanket. I didn't sew over the white though because I didn't want the brown thread to be seen there. You can do that if you like or even go back over those parts with changing the top thread to white so it isn't seen.
Now you have one nice comfy cozy football blanket ready for cuddling! Thanks to my dad for helping with the phots :)
