Soft Sophistication

While I am working on a larger secret project, I needed a smaller, quick craft to mix things up a little. I find that if I stick to just one project for too long, I get too focused on completing it rather than perfecting it and enjoying the process.  I had bought packs of assorted fabric from Wal-Mart so I dug out all of my unused scraps of fabric and combined them with the packs to make a baby blanket for a co-worker. As the gender of the baby had not yet been revealed, I wanted to make something that could kind of be considered 'gender-neutral' and the fabrics I used don't give it the typical "baby" look, which I kind of love.

This project turned out well for a few reasons. While still not perfect and containing just a few areas where the seams don't line up perfect, like this:

I did a much better job at making the seams the same size and lining them up  than I had before, so that the majority of the blanket looked like this: 

Finally, in my mind, my greatest triumph was the hem around the outside. My other practice blankets had borders that weren't all the same size and had a stitching that seemed to be all over the place. I focused much more on the placement of the stitches and the size of the hem than I had before and to my great pleasure, it turned out wonderfully! Even my corners mostly resembled a corner and for the first time, I feel confident enough to actually give the baby blanket away as a gift.

The fabric I used for the backing is by far one of the softest fabrics I have ever felt and the texture is wonderful for babies. It's called Minky Fabric and can be found at Joanns and some Wal-Marts. I'm sure they sell it in other stores but these are the only two I have looked in so far. I do know that Amazon sells it so that is always my back up plan if necessary. The Minky fabric gives a great weight and warmth to the blanket that other quilted backings just won't do; and it is a great fabric to work with, especially for beginners. 

All in all, this was the perfect two-day project and it rejuvenated me to work on my secret one. And better yet, I have my gift for a baby shower in March already done!