Whatever I do needs to be cheap like dirt. I'm actually excited about that challenge. What will be hard to overcome is my total lack of knowledge on everything that I just mentioned. No joke, I am BEGINNER in every sense of the word. My mother is wonderful at sewing and being creative with different medians. Right now she is wondering what happened to the knowledge she tried to pass on to me. I would say "I don't know" but lets be honest, it just didn't stick. I always have my mom to lean on and she is always willing to help, so I was lazy and never really learned. But no more! I'm going to be handy and crafty, and "a really useful engine"!
So here is my start. Evelyn needs a warm cuddly blanket of her own, not hand me downs from her big brother. So on Christmas morning she will get this beautiful blanket that I "made" (aka tied knots in).
So here's how I did it, for all those other beginners out there. We have to start somewhere!
Step one: Chose your fleece (this is harder than you think, so many cute prints!) This is a two-thickness blanket so you choose two different fabrics, corresponding or not, prints or solids, it's up to you! I got 1 and 1/2 yards (of each) and it turned out perfect for a lap blanket.
Step two: Put the fabrics together, right sides facing out, and trim around ALL edges. I trimmed less than an inch off in some places. The goal is to have all edges match.
Step three: Using a four inch square piece of paper as a guide cut the corners off. This makes so much sense when you get to the tying part!
Step four: Cut a 4 inch fringe on all edges. Don't skimp on the 4 inches! My fringe widths varied between one and one and a half inches. (The one inch strips were easier to tie). I moved a ruler along with me for reference on the width as well as to tell me where to stop cutting. Maybe I should have mentioned before, but you really want some sharp scissors for this project! You don't have to have sharp ones, mine were pretty dull, but you'll want sharp ones!
Step five: Tie it up! I did a simple over-hand not, essentially tying the two fabrics together. At this point I was feeling a little ridiculous by the simplicity of this blanket, does it really qualify as handmade and crafty if it's this easy? Well, my satisfaction level then (and now) was off the charts, so I say 'yes'!
Step six: Turn the blanket over and re-tie the whole thing. Turning it over makes it so your knots don't all lean to one side...I guess. But double knotting it makes it look allot better, you are able to pull it tight and get a cute little knot. Awe!
Done! Finished! Totally happy with myself! Excited to give it to my little girl on Christmas!
2 comments:
Nice Job! :D She's going to love eating it.
I know, I'm so excited!
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