Monday, December 8, 2008

Faux Mink in Pink (and Purple)

Most Christmases, I have given Kat a new blanket as a gift. The first one, when she was just 5 months old, was a purchased Care Bear blanket, but the others I have "made" myself. They've been crocheted or made from polar fleece with tied fringe. They've all been rather small, too.

Kat's been asking for a bigger blanket lately, so this year I decided to make one that is about 5 feet wide by 6 feet long. Instead of fleece, I chose faux mink, in bubblegum pink and a deep lavender. Like many 5-year-old girls, Kat names those as her favorite colors.


We worked in our kitchen because that's where we have the most floor space. Unlike fleece, this fabric is pretty slippery, especially when layered. To take some of the slip out, Shane and I sprayed the reverse side of one piece of fabric with a fabric adhesive. We used Hang Tite, which is actually a construction adhesive suitable for fabric and something we already had on hand, but there are many other brands to choose from at the craft stores. A light coating keeps the fabric from slipping, but does not bond the layers of fabric together. It also comes out in the wash.


After layering the fabric, matching the selvaged edges, we had uneven edges on the other three sides.


Shane couldn't find his Sheetrock square, so we squared the fabric using two yard sticks, a tape measure and some basic high school geometry.


Once squared, we decided on 5" long fringes, so we cut 5" squares out of each corner. Shane then cut the fringes while I followed behind tying them. We started out with 1" wide fringes, but they were too thick for me to tie, so we cut them in half. The 1/2" fringes worked much better.


And here's the finished reversible blanket. The pink matches her bedroom furniture and the lavender matches her new bathrobe. I think she'll be very happy with her new blanket on Christmas morning.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! She'll love it.

The Cookbook Junkie said...

That looks so comfortable!

Tug said...

Looks very soft & snuggly! I love the no sew blankets; had never thought of the spray adhesive - awesome!

Unknown said...

The blanket looks lovely and soft. I think I could do with one of those myself.

I love that you make this effort for your daughter and that she obviously appreciates the blankets by requesting one specifically.

Unknown said...

I would love to snuggle up in that blanket right now. It is beautiful! What a lovely thing to give her each year.

Sam said...

I love this!