My Favorite Quick and Easy Baby Blanket

The last couple of months I haven't been posting quite as much as I had planned or would have liked but I actually have a pretty good reason for that. It turns out that we decided not to stop with 5 little monsters and number 6 is on its way. I am about 16 weeks pregnant with baby number 6 and even though I wouldn't say it has been a terribly difficult pregnancy so far I have been exhausted and not been feeling great for the past couple of months. As a result I was kind of just doing the bare minimum on my blog because I just didn't feel up to much more than that. Now that the first trimester is behind me and I am starting to feel a little more like a normal person again I feel like I want to start blogging more, just don't be surprised if there is a lot of baby stuff in the near future.

Today I thought I would share one of my favorite baby projects ever. It is super easy to make, really practical and something I use all the time with my babies. It is a simple double layer flannel receiving blanket. Basically it is just 2 squares of flannel sewn together into a nice big, thin, lightweight baby blanket.

When my second baby was born a friend gave us a flannel baby blanket like this as a baby gift. I loved how big it was but that it was also not as heavy as a quilt. So when my next baby was born I made a boyish one for him. 

Then I made another with my next baby. They were great with her because she was born with hip dysplasia and when she was just a  week or two old she had to start wearing a harness 24/7 that held her legs out and up. Before the harness she loved to be swaddled and slept better than I thought any newborn could. Then the first few nights with the harness were horrible because we couldn't swaddle her and she wouldn't stay asleep without it. These blankets ended up being big enough to swaddle her upper body up snugly while being wrapped loosely around her bottom half which ended up giving her enough of a swaddled feeling that she started sleeping again. She looked kind of funny wrapped up that way but she liked it. 

 I really do use them all the time. I loved them for nursing because of the size. They work great for swaddling because babies outgrow the little flannel receiving blankets so quickly. They are great for packing in the diaper bag or taking on outings. I was looking through old pictures and it seemed like they made frequent appearances on trips to the park or the zoo, either thrown over the stroller or if I was wearing a carrier, tucked around the carrier. 

How to Make a Quick and Easy Baby Blanket

Finished Size approximately 42"-44" square

You will need:

• 1 1/4 yard each of 2 different flannel fabrics
• scissors or rotary cutter, mat and ruler
• coordinating thread
• sewing machine

Instructions:

First you will need to square your fabric, you will want to cut it into the largest square you can get from your fabric. To do this I usually just use scissors and fold the fabric into a triangle and trim it into a square. If you prefer you can use a rotary cutter to trim it. The fabric is typically about 44" wide so you should end up with a square about that size. Trim both fabrics so that they are the same size. 

Place the two fabrics right sides together and sew around the outside leaving an opening in one side for turning. Clip the corners. Turn right side out. Topstitch around the outside of the blanket closing the opening that you left for turning. You can just use a straight stitch or you can use a decorative stitch just for fun. 

Really, it just takes a few minutes to make and you are done. Super quick, super easy and super useful. Perfect to make for your own baby or to give as a gift.