RBD Flannel Showcase – HST Baby Blanket

Today is my turn on the Riley Blake Designs Flannel Blog Tour. I’m super excited to be sharing my half square triangle baby blanket…

The Riley Blake Designs flannel is unbelieveably soft and cuddly. Once I felt it, I knew I and to sew a baby blanket. When my husband gave my finished blanket a feel he said.. “Wow, NICE fabric”. He can be incredibly picky, so anything that is given his seal of approval must be pretty great.

I added a mini pom pom trim to the edge of the blanket. The pom poms give the blanket that extra sweet feeling. They are so tiny, they look like a strand of pearls. I bought a few yards at JoAnn Fabrics and have been waiting patiently to sew with them. I knew a perfect project was just waiting for these little guys.

Materials:

1. 4 colors Riley Blake Designs Flannel – 1 yard each
2. Mini pom pom trim – 4 yards
3. Quilting ruler, cutting mat and rotary cutter
4. Sewing supplies – scissors, pins, measuring tape
5. Sewing machine
6. Iron and ironing board

I shared my super colorful half square triangle pillow the other week and now I am addicted to sewing triangles!  I love this shape and the modern, geometric pattern that can be created. Plus, with a HST there are so many color combinations that a project can take many different directions.

I couldn’t decide on the size to make for my baby blanket. Initially I wanted to make a small receiving size blanket. Then, late one night I was inspired by my kitchen tiles and decided to use them as a reference for the square size.

Ok, let’s get started.

Step 1: Cut your fabric.  Cut a strip of fabric and then recut it into 16″ x “16 squares. For more information on how to sew a HST, check out this awesome tutorial from Stitchery Dickory Dock.

Step 2: Piece the front and back together. I decided on a different front and back design.

Step 3 and 4: Sew pom pom trim to blanket. There are a few ways you can do this. The easiest/cheating way is to cut the mini pom pom trim to the length of each side. Pin the trim along each edge, pom poms facing inwards. Pin at a 1/4″ seam allowance. Cross the pom pom trim over each other at each end. MAKE SURE that 2 pom poms do not sit right on top of each other. Place into sew machine and stitch down. Backstitch. Repeat for the remaining sides.  Press in place with an iron. Trim the excess pom pom off at each end. NOTE: An alternative method is to place a continuous piece of pom pom trim around the outside edge. Clip into the trim seam at each corner. Pin around outside edge. Place into sewing machine and stitch in place.

Step 5: Place right sides together. Pin at each side seam. Place into sewing machine and stitch together. Make sure to stitch following the PREVIOUS stitch line. This makes it super easy and very clean. Leave a small opening along one side to turn right side out. Press with an iron.

Step 6 and 7: Turn right side out. Press the seams again with an iron. Topstitch around the outside edge and anywhere else as desired.

So that’s it. What do you think? Are you going to try out the Riley Blake Designs flannel? It’s the perfect time of year to get inspired by this warm cuddly fabric!

Happy Sewing. Make sure  to check out the other amazing bloggers on the tour:

9/5 – Riley Blake Designs

9/9 – Quiltscapes

9/12 – Fishsticks Designs

9/19 – Stitching Scientist

9/23 – Sassy Quilter

9/26 – Simple Simon & Co

9/30 – Fabric Mutt

10/3 – Just Let Me Quilt

10/7 – Jedi Craft Girl

10/10 – Rose and Odin

10/14 – Sew We Quilt

10/17 – It’s my turn

10/21 – Leigh Laurel Studios

10/24 – The Cottage Mama

10/28 – Flannel Queen

10/31 – Lucy Blaire

11/4 – Back to Riley Blake Designs

Want to know what fabrics I used? The fabric is from Riley Blake Designs and their flannel collection and the print is called “Flannel Honeycomb Dot”