Easy Handmade Baby Gift for $15

Looking for a guaranteed hit gift, that you can easily craft from hand for around $15?   Try making a fleece, no-sew, kid-or-baby blanket.

When my first child was born, a friend made her one of these blankets.  That was my first introduction to them, and little did I know at the time that out of the many wonderful blankets my baby received as gifts – this one was destined to be her absolute favorite!

They are obviously soft, but the double thickness of fleece gives them a nice weight to them, too.   Since my babies usually only sleep with one blanket over them, I love how warm they are.

Due to popularity, these now come in do-it-yourself kits.  But it costs less, and you get more flexibility, if you just select two fabrics on your own and have them cut you 1 1/3 yards of each.  This amount of fabric will make an approximately square shaped, very nice sized blanket.I like to pick a fun pattern for one side, and a solid complimentary color for the other.

Not crafty?  Can’t sew?  Doesn’t matter!  That’s what I love about these blankets.  They are so easy, and you can have it done if about 1 hour, or less.

1.  If you have any baby detergent on hand – I like to wash the fabric remnants first.

2.  Align them together and lay them on a clean floor with the “wrong” sides together, right sides facing out.  (Sometimes with fleece there isn’t a wrong side of the fabric, but just be sure to check your patterned fabric carefully and make sure you put the nicer side facing out.)

3.  They will probably be cut slightly different – Trim any edges so both pieces are the same size.

4.  Cut your fringes by making 5 inch long cuts along the edge, as shown below.  Each fringe is about 1 inch wide.

 

5.  After you have cut fringes along all 4 edges of your square blanket … start at one corner, grab one set of fringe, and tie the top fabric fringe in a knot with the bottom fabric fringe.  Now work your way around the blanket edges.

You’ve just hand made a beautiful, sure-to-be-favorite baby blanket!

Is there anything better than a hand made gift?!  I think new moms find this particularly touching… I know I did.  Plus, it usually ends up being an even more affordable option than purchasing an item. It’s a win win – give it a try sometime for the next baby in your life!

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