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Do you have someone in your life who could benefit from a swaddle blanket that will quickly become their favorite baby accessory? Maybe that person is you, or someone you care about. Well, if you want to give it a shot, this is a quick, easy, and rewarding thing to whip out in an evening.
The whole thing will take you around 1 hour to complete.
This is a beginner level project and you won’t need any prior sewing experience – in fact, this would make a great first project if you’ve never sewn before.
In this tutorial I am not going over the basics, so if you need those, prepare yourself before you read this.
There are 3 main steps to this process:
- Measure and cut your fabric – This doesn’t need to be any exact measurement, but around 50″ by 45″ is a good size. You can alter this based on your own personal preference, if you wish.
- Press your edges over – Someone once told me this a long time ago – and I know it is true. Sewing IS pressing.
- Sew – Just a basic straight stitch will do here.
Why Muslin?
I have been making swaddle blankets for friends for a long time – but it wasn’t until recently that I realized the flannel ones I usually make probably aren’t the best for this because they have no stretch. You actually want to use a soft, durable, and flexibly stretchy fabric to make these blankets, because it will secure the baby much better and is less likely to come apart.
The material is actually NOT muslin, it is what is called cotton gauze – preferably double gauze because that is a little more durable and warm than the single ply (think toilet paper).
You can find muslin almost anywhere that fabric is sold – Walmart, Amazon, Fabric.com, Joann’s Fabrics, etc.
What is so nice about these blankets is that they work great not only for swaddling and wrapping your baby up, but they also work as burp cloths, breastfeeding wraps, or to cover a car seat or baby carrier.
As an added bonus, every time you wash them they seem to get softer.
What Materials You Need
- 1.25 yards of double cotton gauze fabric – This can be your choice of fabric – since this is often used for baby items (bibs, burp cloths, diapers, etc.) most fabric stores will have some cute options with patterns for babies – check out this cute one on Amazon. If organic is important to you, it’s a little harder to come by but can be special ordered.
- Measuring Tape – If you have sewn before you probably already have this.
- Fabric Scissors – You can use any fabric scissors you like to use.
- Sewing Machine
- Iron & Ironing Board
- Cotton Thread – This should match your fabric colors.
Steps To Make a Swaddle Blanket
- Pre-wash your fabric and dry it so that it shrinks.
- Measure and trim your blanket to your desired length. I would recommend making it around 50″ by 45″ inches if possible. These are typically smaller but the bigger size comes in handy.
- With your fingers, fold the edge of the blanket over once, then another time, to be about 1/2 inch total of a double folded edge.
- Press around all the edges, all the way around the blanket.
- At the corners, you can overlap them (so they will be a total of 4 layers at the corner) – but you can trim the excess out if they are too bulky.
- Sew around the entire blanket’s outer edge, back-stitching at the beginning and around each corner so that you have no flapping edges. Use a straight stitch and a 1/2 inch seam – I like it set to 2 (mm) on the machine for stitch length.
- Trim your threads when you are done.
THAT’S IT!
Enjoy your blanket or give it to someone who will surely appreciate it!
Video Tutorial
DIY - Make your own Swaddle Blanket
DIY - Make your own Swaddle Blanket
Watch the video for the full tutorial.
Double Cotton Gauze
You will want to use a double cotton gauze (organic if you wish) – for baby blankets you are better off with a pattern or print so that it can hide any stains you might get on it easier.
Here is a great example of double cotton gauze you can buy from Amazon:
If you made this – please let me know how it turned out in the comments below!