Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Taggie Blankie Tutorial

Hi!
Now that Christmas is over,
I'm excited to share this fun tutorial.

I must warn you; I am not a perfectionist.
{well in some ways I am but not in the way of keeping track of numbers and measurements}

You will have to be willing to take some liberties of your own with this tutorial.
I am merely trying to inspire you to get sewing!


Here is my Cambria with her taggie!


This is the first moment she saw it.  She was very interested in the bright, colorful tags!

Here are the other recent taggie creations in Banmanland...


Four in a row...
I always like to pick fun textures.
It's mandatory that one side be silky.



This fun color combo was made for a cute baby friend of Cambria's named Kingsley.
His Mommy loves fluorescents.


{his nickname}

The hand-embroidered felt tag is my favourite part.
There is nothing like creating something beautiful simply with a needle and thread.


Mikayla made this taggie for her cousin Jamin for Christmas.
She embroidered and everything all by herself.  
I was proud!


A whole lot of tags!!


This part has to be completed before you can sew your taggie up.
I *may* have gone a little overboard on this one.
I couldn't stop.


Select your ribbons.  
I have an endless supply of ribbon and I still can't seem to manage to leave Michaels without a new roll.
It's my addiction.
You may need to go out and purchase ribbon.  If this is the case, I am sorry I do not have exact measurements for you.  

This is what I know:

I used about 10-15 ribbons per side. 
4 sides. 
Each ribbon is between 3 1/2- 5 1/2inches long.
Choose all sorts of ribbons.
Skinny, thick, silky, grosgrain.
I vary the lengths of the ribbons so they turn out to be all different shapes, sizes, textures AND lengths.


I cut a perfect square in each of my two fabrics.
My favourite square size is 19 inches.
{before sewing}

Pin the ribbons to the heavier of the two fabrics.
{I pinned my ribbons to the pink minky dot above}
Pin those ribbons inward.


Sew all the way around the blanket to secure all ribbons in place.
Before I pin and sew the two fabrics together, I carefully pin the corner ribbons in place (see red pin above) to avoid accidentally sewing them into my seam.
{hard to explain but believe me, if you skip this step you will know what I am talkin' about!}


Pin the "right side" (meaning the pretty side) of the second fabric(in my case it's the grey with white dots) to the "right side" of the now-ribboned first fabric (pink minky).
{when sewing with silky, use lots of pins:)}


I make an X with pins to mark where I should start and stop sewing.
{you must leave an opening so that you can flip the inside, out.}
{another awkward sentance. sheesh.}



I sew around the entire blanket once.
{with the exception of the opening for flipping}
Then I flip the blanket to the other side and go around again so that I can ensure all edges are secured.
I use a zig zag stitch for the second time around the blanket.


Don't forget to backstitch the edges of the opening:)


Time to flip!



Now pin the opening shut.
{oh- I'm not into ironing.  Years ago, when she was still alive, my Grandma taught me that I must iron between each step.  She was correct, everything turns out nicer when ironed.  If you can, this is the time to iron your blanket.  In my case, Grandma only had two kids so I believe she would be cool with me skipping that step!!}


Sew around the blanket very close to the edge (pink) and then a second time about 3/4 of an inch in from the edge(teal).
{more awkward explaining.  Just look at the picture!}


Crooked?
Yes!
I told you I'm not a perfectionist.



Baby loves it.
She's very forgiving of her taggie's imperfections.


Your baby needs one too!
Get to work!

Show me your taggies when you complete them!!



11 comments:

Jessanna said...

I LOVE this tutorial! Well done! (and thanks for easing the pressure of perfectionism, and inspiring me to sew..) Eden still LOVES her Taggie Blankie you made her when she was born... and so do I :) Cambria is soooo adorable! I can't believe how big she is getting!! Happy new year to you all..and thanks for not napping.. ;0) x0

Watters said...

love this...Emily still loves the taggie you made her and now uses it for her babies....thanks xo

Meadow Brianna said...

Love the tutorial!! Will be making some of these for baby-having friends!

Kasey @ Walking Redeemed said...

Love this! I've been wanting a simple sewing project to give myself momentum to get learning. I soo want to be able to teach my girls to sew. And my 7 month old twin boys would love these cute little taggie blankies! Thank you! {Your family is beautiful!!}

Sarah and Marco said...

Love this! I'm looking for that gray polka dot material. I saw it's from Joann's, but I can't find it. Did you get it this year?

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Anonymous said...

Be careful... the infamous tag, taggie blanket, aka any ribbon folded and sewn between 2 fabrics, is patented.

Anonymous said...

Hi. I am hoping to make this blanket for my daughter but can't figure out if you are meant to pin the ribbons to the pretty or plain side of the fabric. Help please.

Anonymous said...

Do you ever make any of these blankets out of flannel

Anonymous said...

DONT IRON THE MINOY DOT SIDE! It removes the dots lol