Here, we’ll share five steps on how to make a blanket out of baby clothes for those who have a child that has grown too big and now looking for a way to find a new use for his/her things.
Though most baby things we buy can be reused, clothes get rough with time. Now that parents like to keep the kids on trend, we just need a way to deal with old clothes.
Rather than putting them on a box for donations, which is a kind way to repurpose your items, you can create a blanket out of your baby’s old clothes.
Many of these baby clothes are still in good condition but just wouldn’t fit your kid anymore. You can use this blanket yourself or bundle it with your child.
Most of these blankets are made to keep all the memories from your child’s younger days.
We suggest you start hauling your baby’s most memorable clothes, and together, we’ll piece them all into a single stretch that you can keep with you always.
Helpful Steps On How To Make A Blanket Out Of Baby Clothes
There are many ways to create a blanket from used clothing.
You can just sew all the baby clothes together or pick a few and attach them to a single fabric that is wide enough to become a blanket.
On the other hand, we’d prefer to share the steps of creating a blanket that you will be proud to take out with you and your baby.
For the blanket, you’ll need:
- baby clothes
- Scissors
- Thread
- Needle
- Pins
- Frame
- Ruler
- Textile chalk
Step #1. Cut out all the clothes into rectangles
Once you’ve taken out all the baby clothes you have available for the blanket, cut out rectangular pieces of a single dimension on all of them.
You can pick out any size you want depending on how big are the clothes you have.
We recommend that you cut off all the sleeves and necklines, so there’s uniformity on all your pieces.
Step #2. Arrange all the pieces into a large rectangle or square
Pick out all the pieces you made and put them side-by-side to form the blanket.
We suggest you do this on the floor or any wide, clean and flat surface so that you can see how it will look.
You can create patterns with your pieces or keep them simple with a single orientation for every cloth.
Add more baby clothes until you achieve the blanket dimension that you want.
Step #3. Pin all the baby cloth edges together
After arranging, pin every cloth edge to its neighboring cloth. Do this to all your pieces.
It will help if you have a frame to hold the blanket up to adjust all the parts so that you can achieve uniform dimensions on opposite sides.
When you finish pining all the pieces you have, you can straighten out the borders by cutting any excess cloth.
Draw a line on the end cloths using a ruler, then follow it when you’re cutting. You can reuse the excess for another layer or another blanket.
Step #4. Sew all the edges and pieces
One by one, you can now sew all the edges of your baby clothes together until the blanket becomes whole. You can use hand stitches or a sewing machine for this part.
For hand stitching, a back-stitch should be enough to keep all the pieces safely together.
If you will hand-stitch the whole blanket, though, we suggest you do it bit by bit so that you don’t tire out your hands.
Step #5. Connect a back layer
The first whole fabric that you create will be the top layer of your blanket.
You should add another layer at the bottom, though, to protect and cover all the stitching you made.
If you have many baby clothes, you can create the second layer using the same steps and attach it to the first with invisible stitches.
If you don’t have enough baby clothes to create another layer, you can use any old curtain for the new layer.
If you don’t have anything wide enough for the new layer, you can just add borders on your first layer, and you’re done.
How many baby clothes do you need to create a blanket?
The amount of baby clothes you need to make a blanket depends on the amount of fabric you can take from a single baby cloth, and the blanket dimension you want to create.
If you’re aiming for a blanket that you will use, you will need more used clothes.
For a blanket measuring 200 cm by 350 cm, you’ll need approximately twenty baby clothes for a single-layered blanket.
So the more clothes you buy for your baby, the larger blanket you can create later on.
One thing we would remind you, though; as much as possible, you should only use clothes that are not older than five years old.
The fabrics of clothes get ripped easier as they age, especially cotton ones.
Using fabrics that are too old for your blanket might cause it to get damaged easily in the future; plus, old fabrics get discolored, which is not going to look pretty.
Conclusion
Learning how to make a blanket out of baby clothes can take time and patience.
However, if you stick to it until it’s done, the results will truly fascinate you; and once you preserve that blanket well, you can even give it to your kid later on!