Baby Showers are such an exciting time for Mums-To-Be and the best part about the special day is “Present Time”. Everyone paws over the tiny clothes, remembering just how small a newborn is.

When choosing a gift for a baby there are so many considerations. Is it for a boy or a girl? Should you get something for a newborn or maybe when it’s a few months old? Do you get toys or clothes? etc. But out of all the presents at a Baby Shower I think hand made gifts always have the most impact. Mums will always really appreciate something made especially for their little miracle.

Plus you get the credit for a handmade present for years to come. I have personally made blankies for a few baby showers and a long time later I still get praise for my craftiness. Youre Aunty Tracey made that for you.

If you can sew a straight line – You CAN do this. It’s really easy and here I have listed a step-by-step outline to making a cute blankie.

HAND-MADE BLANKIES!

STEP 1: Go to a fabric shop and find the flannelette material.

STEP 3: Pick out 2 fabrics that you like for either side of the blankie. Get creative and mix and match. If you don’t know what sex the baby is, then maybe do one side pink pattern and the other a blue pattern.

STEP 3: You want to ask for 1.2 metres for each piece of material

STEP 4: When you get home sit down at a flat table and start pinning the material together. Make sure the pattern is facing inwards.

STEP 5: Sew straight lines around all the edges leaving a 10cm hole on one side.

STEP 6: Use the whole to turn the fabric inside out.

STEP 7: Neatly tuck in the fabric around where the gap is.

STEP 8: Flatten out the edges and sew 2 straight lines around the whole blankie. This closes the gap and makes a nice border around the ends.

If you have fancy stitches on your machine then try one for the edging to make it look smart, but rememberto practice on a scrap piece of fabric first!

STEP 9: Roll up your blankie and wrap it. Add an extra note stating it was “Handmade by You”

STEP 10: Present time! Watch the Mum-To-Be’s face as she unwraps her specially made blankie. She’ll love you for it!

Here are some unique baby blanket gift ideas.

Handmade Baby Blankets

A handmade baby blanket gift speaks to the heart of any new mother. Knowing someone spent the time, thought and effort to make a hand made gift in this day and age means a lot.  You can crochet, quilt, embroider a baby blanket to make it unique and special. In fact, you can make a baby blanket that requires no sewing at all, and will be just as special because you put yourself into the gift.

Keepsake Kit and a Blanket

Another great baby blanket gift is to add a keepsake with the baby blanket.  You can use a baby footprint kit, or a handprint kit, or tins for their first lost tooth or clip of hair from their first haircut.  This is made even more special if you have the baby blanket personalized with the baby’s name.

Baby Blanket Cake

Diaper cakes are all the rage, cloth diapers are gaining steam and they make a cute cake when all rolled up.  You can do the same thing using baby blankets.  This can also be a relatively inexpensive gift.  You can find fleece baby blankets at most dollar type stores.  You will also need some rattles and other baby toys.

Just roll the blankets up into tight rolls. Then place them in a circle on something solid.  Do this for two or three tiers.  You can tie them in place with pretty ribbon. Then add some rattles, baby toys tied to the “cake”. It makes an adorable and useful baby blanket gift.

Embroidered Baby Blankets

This gift will work whether you know how to embroider or not.  You simply purchase a lovely baby blanket.  This is key to this gift, make sure you get a really nice blanket.  You then simply embroider (or hire someone to do it for you) the baby’s name, date of birth, height and weight on the blanket.  This will be a keepsake a new mom will cherish forever.  She will also save that blanket for her child when they have their first.

As you can see, baby blankets can be used in a variety of ways making wonderful gifts for any new mom.  It’s especially nice since they are so useful, and you can get them in any color fabric and in any price range.

While a new mom may receive many blankets not all will be kept and remembered past the first year.  Baby blankets are great for the first year, but after that they begin to take up space where toddler toys could go. Make sure your baby blanket gift passes the “should I donate this blanket to charity” test.  Make sure your baby blanket gift is unique and original.  The no sew fleece baby blanket fits the bill perfectly.

I have two sewing machines, neither of which work, so when heard about the no sew baby blanket I was all over it.  Fleece is so fluffy and soft, and warm.  This is particularly helpful if you live in a cold climate, like we do.

You have a huge variety of fabrics to choose from, as they are making fleece in just about any color and design you can imagine these days.  You can choose to use the same fleece, two different colors, patterns or however you think the blanket will look nice. It’s really up to you. So here are the instructions for making a no sew baby blanket for the new mom in your life.

What you will need:

2 pieces of fleece each 1 1/2 yards
scissors (make sure they are sharp) or a rotary cutter
pins (optional)
one 4″ by 4″ piece of paper
ruler or tape measure (ruler works better)
self healing mat (only if using rotary cutter)

What you need to do

First you want to make sure you cut away any selvage along the edges of your fleece.  Don’t cut away too much as you want to keep the size of your fleece as big as you can.

Now put your two pieces of fleece on top of one another.  This will be the two sides of your blanket. Check and put the fluffier sides of your fleece facing out.

When your two pieces are put together, match up the edges and make sure they are fairly even.  I pin them together at this point using straight pins. This makes it easier for me to keep them together and even for the fringe cutting.

Now take your piece of 4X4 paper and put it in the corner. You will cut out a 4 inch square from each of the corners, through both pieces of fleece.  Doing this will allow your fringe to line up and make perfect corners.

It’s now time to cut your fringe.  You want to cut your fringe pieces to be 1 inch each. Go ahead and cut them all the way around all four sides of your blanket.  I find this is easier and more accurate with a rotary cutter.  If you use a rotary cutter, make sure to put a self healing mat under where you are cutting as to not destroy the surface you are using.

Once all your fringe pieces are cut it’s time to get tying.  Go ahead and tie the two pieces of fleece together.  You want to tie overhand knots.  Go all the way around the blanket tying every other piece of fringe.

When you get all the way around doing every other one, flip the blanket over and tie the rest of the fringe all the way around.  Doing this helps keep the fringe even and looking good.

Once you have finished tying the fringe don’t forget to take the pins out if you used them.

You have just completed your no sew baby blanket.  It’s pretty rewarding and a new mom will appreciate that you took the time, effort and thought to make a homemade baby blanket gift for her new bundle of joy.