It has been baby girl central in my world lately and I couldn't be happier and more excited to sew all of the cute pink things! I've been working on bow holders and now I'm onto swaddle blankets. Keep reading for a super easy beginner-friendly DIY swaddle blanket tutorial!
For one swaddle blanket you'll need:
- 1 yard flannel or double gauze/swaddle cloth
- Serger
- 3 cones serger thread
- Embroidery machine design thread and stabilizer (optional)
- General sewing supplies
Instructions:
1. Prep your fabric for sewing.
Pre-wash your fabric preferably with fragrance- and dye-free detergent. Once washed and dried cut your flannel or double gauze to 36 square. This will be a decent sized swaddle blanket but if you want a bigger square purchase 1 1/3 yard of fabric and cut to 44 square.
2. (OPTIONAL): Add embroidery to your blanket.
So far I've made two sets of swaddle blankets and used different types of embroidery for each. For the first set I added a monogram that I created in EmbroideryWorks.
For the second set I used this sweet embroidery design. I used my go-to Ultra Soft Fusible Stabilizer from Baby Lock for both the monogram and embroidery design.
3. Get your serger ready for sewing.
For a rolled hem finish set your serger up for a 3-thread narrow rolled edge with a length of 0.75-1 and a width of 3.5. Thread your serger with the thread color of your choice.
Each set of swaddle blankets featured slightly different colors in each set. Because of this I used white thread for one set and light pink for the other. If you haven't experienced the awesome-ness that is Jet-Air or ExtraordinAir threading on Baby Lock sergers I highly recommend taking one for a test drive! Since it's so easy to thread a Baby Lock serger it wasn't an issue at all switching thread colors.
To finish the swaddle blanket simply run each side through your serger encasing the raw edge within the rolled hem.
Now that you've made one swaddle blanket it won't take you any time at all to make a couple more. For gift giving roll each one up to create a little bundle and tie with twine or ribbon. With just a little bit of effort you've created a special handmade gift that will be treasured for years to come!
