Winter is on its way!

With a few cold snaps hitting over the last few weeks I think it is safe to say that winter is well and truly on it’s way!!  And I must admit I’m not a huge fan of winter.  Having said that I love flannel pyjamas, and snuggles, so winter is good for something at least!  And with the cooler weather upon us, I decided I had better get cracking on some warm stuff for the kids.

First on the agenda was some nice warm snuggle blankets for the little man of the house.  I’ve really struggled this year to find any decent blankets in stores for babies.  They’re either really, really thin or really, really thick and bulky.  Or they’re really, really small and barely wrap around bub, or they’re really, really big – single bed big!  I just could NOT find a happy medium!  I wanted something that was light enough that I could add layers as needed, rather than being so thick and heavy that bub would roast in it on the warmer days.  And I wanted something that was just the right size to place over bub comfortably no matter where he was – whether it be the cot, the pram, on a rug on the floor or in his bouncer.  Or even to just snuggle under on the couch when he’s bigger.

I was lucky enough to find some really nice boy themed flannel (well, unisex really, because I know my daughter would just as happily like these prints), as well as some lovely soft minky that went well with the prints on the flannel.  The best part about these prints are that they’re not too babyish either, so they will still get plenty of use in years to come.  Once I had the fabrics, all I needed then was some lovely satin blanket binding.

My ideal size of blanket is about 100cm x 100cm.  I think its just the right size to be not too big and not too small.  And my best advice when sewing with minky is to use lots (and I mean LOTS!!) of pins. (I really must remember to take more pics so I can show you what I mean).  This will help stop the minky slipping and sliding and buckling when you sew it.  I also run a quick hem around the outside so that it makes it so much easier to attach the satin binding without having to keep loose fabrics together.

There is an excellent little tutorial here which shows you how to do mitred corners with satin blanket binding.  As well as how to finish it off so there are no raw edges left showing.

And these are the finished products!  I’m rather pleased with the final products, even if I do say so myself, and they’ve already been put to good use!!

So now that the little man was covered, I also needed to make Miss 2 something nice and warm.  And I’ll admit to being a little jealous of these gorgeous purple pyjamas!!

Miss 2 is becoming increasingly difficult to photograph! I had to convince her that daddy needed to see a picture of his pretty purple princess!!  And instead she replied with  “look at this trick mummy!!”.

And “play bang bang bang bang mummy”

Haha!  Gotta love her!!

Happy sewing until next time!

PS.  I would love it if you could head over and follow my personal blog here!  xo