easy peasy swaddle sheet tutorial

This is my new favorite handmade gift to give at baby showers because they're easy, take less than an hour, and are the kind of gift my friends will actually get to use. 

The first time I made one of these swaddle sheets to a friend she made fun of me --"Gee, do you think it's big enough, Crystal?" (we're good friends and we talk to each other like sisters--you know, rudely).  I laughed back.  I'd thought the same thing when my mom had made one for me a month earlier.  I reassured my prissy friend. "You'll be thanking me.  That thing is going to be more useful than you think."  Sure enough, three years later when we met up at the beach for a mini-vacation and she now had a second baby in tow, it was in her bag.

In fact, it's the size and weight that makes this swaddle blanket very practical. It's most useful for swaddling when Baby (quickly) grows out of all the other napkin-sized blankets.  But I've also found it useful as an infant carrier drape, a crib sheet in a pinch, and as a sort of curtain thrown over the side of the playpen when forced to sleep in the same hotel room as the baby. 

This post is for the swaddle sheet, but if you have an extra twenty minutes, try the burp cloth and make it a set.  Print a "How to Swaddle" diagram like this one and tuck it into your gift, or pair the blanket with the popular Happiest Baby on the Block book.  Your friends will be so impressed with your creativity (unless of course, you've set the bar too high at previous showers by showing up with some intricately crocheted baby sweater or something).

 

Materials Needed:

• 1 1/4 yds solid color flannel
• scraps of coordinating fabric for applique OR store-bought iron-on applique
• matching or contrasting thread (use a bright thread to make your zig-zag stitches stand out and add interest, or hide them with a matching thread)

How To:

1.  Square off raw, cut edges of the flannel with your rotary cutter.

2.  Clip the four corners as shown (figure a).  Don't lob off the corners too drastically; we're talking 1/2" or so - just a nip.  Another technique is to fold them down and press.

3.  Fold each edge down approximately 1/2" and press (fig. b). [If you are worried about possible fraying, cut or fold the corners down a wee more and fold each edge down twice]. Your corners will appear mitered.

4.  Using your machine's zig-zag stitch, sew close to, but not over, the raw edge. Do this for all four sides. Now zig-zag over the "mitered" corners (fig. c) and secure them with a backstitch.  (Be sure to clip all loose threads as close to the fabric as possible to prevent winding around little toes and fingers.) 

5.  Applique: Using a cup or cookie cutter or some other object as a stencil, use a water-soluble marker to trace a shape onto the coordinating fabric ( I like to use a grouping of three different-sized circles). Cut and pin in place to the bottom right corner of your swaddle sheet - or wherever you think it looks best (if you happen to have quilt basting spray or stitch witch, this is also helpful in keeping your shapes down while you sew). Use your zig-zag stitch (isn't it handy?) to sew your shape in place. OR If you don't want to get this fancy schmancy, you can also use an iron-on applique.  Just be sure to secure it with several stitches after ironing.

And you're done! 

NOTE:  Since writing this tutorial a few have commented on variations for sewing, including doubling up the flannel. One thing worth noting is that the practical thing about this blanket - particularly for swaddling - is its light weight.  Doubling the flannel makes the wrap significantly warmer when swaddled. 

If you don't prefer the hemmed edges and sharp corners, but you don't have a surger to make the overall appearance neater, try bias tape around the edges, as one commenter suggested.

Comments

[Jennifer]

Okay, I know you posted this ages ago and I am just finding it...but your how to swaddle link is no longer working...any suggestions to an alternative link?

[Crystal]

Kathy, These could be made with fleece, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend swaddling with them - way too hot.

[Kathy]

Could these be made with fleece?

[Jen]

Thanks! I stumbled across your blog in September while I was on materninty leave. Since then I've made a bunch of these blankets and burp cloths for my daughter and a bunch of friends who've just had babies. Everyone loves them!! And you're bog is great- I check in every in awhile and it never fails to make me smile.

[Ellen]

Thanks Crystal for the super fast response. Now, off to make some for a new mother named...Crystal. I'll be back to read more on your great blog another day.

[crystal1011]

The striped piece is the burp cloth, not the swaddle sheet it is sewn as you describe.
hth,
crystal

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[Ellen]

Hi, I've made some like in your directions but, the striped blanket in your picture looks different. The corners are rounded. Was this made with two pieces sewn right-sides together and turned? They look so good.

[Patricia Bell]

My mother made blankies like this for my babies when I was pregnant. I have a TON of them - - - I am proud to say - mine went through 3 boys who are now 18, 17 and 14 yrs old. Their older brother and his wife are having their first baby and I am about to dig some out to give to them.....the boys call them nana blankies. The hems on all of them are PERFECT (she used the clip and fold method that the original poster recommended....) - and - after 18+ years - for the most part, they still look like they did when she first made them. My mom is no longer with us. But, it makes me very happy to know that I am able to pass something that she made with sooooo much love on to her great grandchildren. I also plan on making some for the little one as well.

[vaginal odor]

"Early tables, even in noble houses, were not graced by cloths unless
it were a banquet, but by the 12th century the custom was almost
universal throughout France and Italy. The use of tablecloths spread
quickly from the aristocracy to the merchant classes, and by the
fifteenth century, all but the poorest households would have owned at
least one such cloth."

[Patricia Loving]

I was looking for a swaddle blanket to make for a member of our extended family who just had a baby and is following the "5 Ss". So happy to have found your site. Thanks so much. I've made three blankets and matching burp clothes using a terry cloth towel for one side.

Patricia

[Jennifer]

I posted back in 6/2008 here wondering how the blankets and edges would hold up. I swaddled my son with these until he was almost a year and I've just given birth to a baby last week and have come back to make more. These are great, a perfect size and fabric and never unravel, thank you for the tutorial!

[Gift Delivery Philippines]

Wow this is perfect to those soon to be Mom,THis is very useful gift for babies.

-Ashley

[Greta]

I make baby blankets like these all the time, instead of turning and hemming the edge, I sew two pieces of 1 1/4 yd. flannel together leaving a small opening for turning, press and then do a decorative stitch around the edge. they last forever.

[CAB]

Ok, I did it! Who knew I could get so many things done in these final weeks before baby is born! Baby #5 will indeed be a spoiled little miss! Come on over and take a peek at the ones I created - I had some leftover pieced blocks that I wasn't quite thrilled w/for a quilt that I put to good use on my second one - what do you think? :)

http://oldspillhouse.blogspot.com/2009/01/swaddling-wee-one-swaddle-sheet.html

Thanks for the inspiration!!!

[Megan]

There are soo cute! I definitely need to try them out!

[Marsha]

I've been making blankets just like this for years to give as gifts---and you're right---recipients first laugh at the size and then come back asking to purchase some for gifts! I used to do the folded hem like yours, but found I could whip them up even quicker by rounding the corners (using a dinner plate as a guide) and then using the rolled hem on my serger. I've been using the same blankets for 7 years and the rolle hems hold up just fine!

[Amber lee]

I just finished reading happiest baby on the block and will have to make some of these, thanks for the tutorial!

[Linda]

oh I love it. can't wait to make this for friends who are expecting soon!....oh and for myself too who has one of those babies that grew way too quickly for swaddling but I'm sure he'd love to spit up on a pretty blanket like that :)

[claire]

haha I always refer to store-bought blankets as napkins. I make mine with a yard of flannel and just serge around the edges. It's also my go-to baby gift!

[IamSusie]

I've also made several of these over the years. My variation is that I cut the corners into a gentle curve with a dinner plate and use 2 packages of double fold bias tape top stitched over the edges. It's so easy, my 8-year old made one recently for a new baby friend of ours in the same alien fabric you used here:
http://iamsusie.blogspot.com/2008/07/back-to-sewing.html

[Shayla]

I love that this is big! My baby cannot do without being swaddled and she's growing out of her blankies! I'm definitely going to make some of these

[Jennifer]

I've just cut out two from this pattern and it looks like they will work well. I do wonder if the edges fray much or how long they will keep from coming loose but the size is just right and I'm glad they are only one layer as I'm due in 5 weeks with a summer baby.

[Jennifer]

I've just cut out two from this pattern and it looks like they will work well. I do wonder if the edges fray much or how long they will keep from coming loose but the size is just right and I'm glad they are only one layer as I'm due in 5 weeks with a summer baby.

[melissa sews]

What a great tutorial! I stumbled across your blog as I was searching for easy apron tutorials. Thanks for sharing your ideas. :)

[Chris]

What a great idea! And that alien fabric is a hoot!