Receiving Blankets

I made some receiving blankets for grandbaby #5 today. I really don't understand commercial receiving blankets. Most of them are rectangular, which make little sense for swaddling, and most are way too small for a full term baby. I have a little bit of a skewed perspective on that, since my last baby weighed 10 1/2 pounds, but still, even the grandtwins that were premature outgrew the commercial receiving blankets quickly.

My normal way of making receiving blankets is to make as a large a square blanket as I can with the fabric. If you figure 44" width, you need 1 1/4 yards to make a one sided blanket, and 2 1/2 yards to make a double sided blanket. If I want contrasting sides, I use 1 1/4 yards from two different fabrics. One sided or two sided I first cut off the selvages and make sure the ends are straight and squared up. For a one-sided blanket I just put in a narrow hem, and add some trim if I feel like it. Those are good for summer babies.

For a two sided blanket, I either have two squares of fabric, or a 2 1/2 yard piece folded in half, either way they are right sides together. I sew around the square, leaving an opening for turning it right side out. Once it's turned right side out you can just edge stitch or use a decorative stitch around the edges, and you will close the opening with those stitches, no need to hand sew.

These three receiving blankets are double sided flannel, as South Africa in July/August is winter, and most houses there do not have central heating or cooling. I bought this flannel to make these blankets, 2 1/2 yards of each. The selvages and trimming from squaring them up are in the trash, and these will soon be on their way to SA, so no increase to the stash for these. This fabric never even met the stash!

I did start quilting my grand-nephew's quilt yesterday, but I didn't get very far. I had to babysit for a few hours today, and I didn't want to get into quilting and be interrupted for so long, so I made the receiving blankets instead. I trimmed the flannel up before my charges got here, and sewed them up after they left. The grandtwins left around the same time, to spend some time with their other grandmother, so the house was pretty quiet this afternoon and evening. Tomorrow I am hoping to finish grand-nephew's quilt, I'm hoping for quilting and binding, but I'll be happy if I just get the quilting done.