Up and Away Blanket

I told you I would find a solution for those freak softies, right?  Up, up, and away we go!

These delightfully big-headed softies look lovely floating in my beautiful balloon.  Okay, so this is a combination of your standard fleece blanket and a quilt.  I wanted it to be warm, I wanted it to last through the toddler phase, I wanted it to be interactive, and I wanted it to be safe.




I used the ballon from this fabric as the inspiration for my blanket.
First, I found some scrap batting from an old quilt project.  I measured some baby soft fleece fabric to match it, with a little hanging over each end.

Then I basically used the same method I used for my coffee cozies and carboy cover.  I stitched up the long sides, flipped it inside out, and stuffed the batting in.  Then I cut the balloon and basket, and turned the ends under so I could applique them on!

batting stuffed in, balloon pinned on

Anyhoooo, so then I stitched the balloon and the basket on, sewing through all layers.  I stitched it all by hand, because my machine couldn't handle the thickness of all the layers (I had REALLY thick batting).  This is kind of like quilting because not only does it applique on the balloon, but it also secures the batting to all layers, which will help keep things from bunching up and rolling around in the blanket.

For the basket, I used two pieces of fabric, and topstitched the rim of the basket before attaching it to the blanket.  Then I just folded the edges under and stitched both pieces on to the blanket, again stitching through all layers.

Then, I went to the top and bottoms and cut the edges into 1-2 inch strips and tied them together, like you would on a normal fleece blanket.  This still finishes the edges and seals in the batting, but gives the blanket a less "quilty" feel.

The hard part was deciding how to do the ropes that attach the balloon to the basket.  Of course I couldn't attach real strings because it would be a strangling hazard to a small child.  So I rummaged through my craft drawers until I found this:

Fabric Pastels.

They are basically like iron-on crayons.  So I free-handed some lines, and then ironed to set.  Easy Peezy.  And here is the finished blanket:

Since the basket is a pocket, the baby will be able to keep all of his precious stuffed animals with him when he finally starts walking and decides to drag my blanket everywhere with him.  (Yes I have that much faith that this gift will be so popular).  To start him out, I added my little softie buddies. Ta-da!

Now for a photoshoot!

Please check out the link parties button to see what great parties I am linking to this week!
Also linking to Us and Them

Pattern Review: Simplicity Softies

Welllllll, I wanted to make some cute stuffed animals for a friend who just had a baby (yay!), so I hopped over to the J0-Ann's 99 cent pattern section and voila: enter Simplicity 2202!

Looks cute, right?  So adorable!  Well, I had to make a few modifications, since this was for a baby:no small parts.  Which basically meant no eyes, collars, hair, or tails.  All of those parts were small, and had to be hand-sewn on. While I trust my hand-stitching, I don't trust it to the grip of a very small alien-looking being.

Now, this would be fine, because the animals are cute, right?  Only if the pattern works out.  So pictures would be really good here:

to the front

to the side

So do you see why I set them up like mug shots?  Yeah, really big heads.  Still cute and all, but does not look like the pattern.  This may be due to user error (I did fail Fine Motor Skills in kindergarten-yes, it was a subject in my kindergarten class).  BUT those bodies look very small to me.

No big deal though, because this is for a baby.  The great thing is that the baby will not be able to tell the difference.  Maybe it will have some psychological effects later in life, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Right?

So what will I be doing with these new little friends?  Stay tuned to find out TOMORROW!  Yes, that's right, I'm on a posting spree!