Popping in today to give you an eyeful of the wonderfully stripey blankets or bedspreads I just finished for the kids' room. They're full size (80x90 inches roughly) and durably made of no-pill fleece and a skein of red yarn for the blanket stitch around the edges.
I was so busy trying to stay on track through the whole sewing process that I didn't take any pictures while I was working on it (sorry!). If I get derailed while working on a project it's not unusual for it to take a year or so before I make myself finish it and since winter is rapidly approaching I wanted it done pronto. The process was pretty simple, mostly very labor intensive. The planning might have been the hardest part since it involved some math :)
I got the fabric from Joann's for 50% off = $4.99 per yard. The fabric was 54" wide and I needed it to be 80" wide. So I bought my fabric in lengths of 2 1/4 yards (=80") to get the right width for the blanket. Two blankets, one pink and white and the other red and white. Two lengths of 2 1/4 yards of white, 2 1/4 pink and 2 1/4 red. Altogether 9 yards. This equaled out to be about $25 per blanket which I think is a pretty fair price for a classic and sturdy striped blanket.
When I got home I folded each 2 1/4 length in half selvage to selvage and cut along the fold (lengthwise). Then folded each part in half lengthwise again and cut along the fold, then again with all the pieces, until I was left with a number of strips roughly measuring 80x9". 12 of these strips sewed together make a blanket about 90" long.
I joined the strips together by putting them right sides together using a zigzag stitch. Then folded them open and top stitched the seam again with a zigzag. This makes for a really sturdy join and since I stitched with white only on the white stripes the front looks seamless (while the stitching is very visible on the back). And then I made them look kind of heirloom (a girl can dream, right?) by adding the blanket stitch to finish them off. It took many hours of cutting, sewing and stitching but none of it was very difficult, as I mentioned.
And now the kids have classic striped blankets in their respective favorite colors that they should be able to use for years to come. It adds a little something to their unisex underwater/nautical bedroom :) They love them and so do I which is the perfect ending to an intense crafting session :)
Before.
And the afters!
I know that bedskirt looks perpetually wrinkly but somehow it always seems to be freshly out of the laundry when I take pictures. It will be sprayed down with a wrinkle relaxer shortly to remedy the excessive wrinkles.
I'm hoping to paint this room soon (keep your fingers crossed) and I'm currently thinking a moody gray/blue color in here, possibly broken up with a large horizontal white stripe. We'll see.
But that's part of what's kept me so busy the last few weeks. The other project I've been working on should be up shortly (again, fingers crossed! I'm terrible with this procrastination sometimes).