Patchwork fleece blanket

This is what I've been working on for the past couple of days:



Just a quick-and-dirty photo to give an idea. Planning to get some better photos as soon as we get another sunny day.

These fleece fabrics have been in my stash for a while - several years, I guess. After reorganizing my craft room, and having the fleece grouped together on its shelf, I kept staring at it and thinking about how so much of it seemed like it should go together. It didn't take too much of a leap to decide to make it into a patchwork blankie.

I cut 35 11-inch squares, for a finished size of around 50x70. After fiddling with the layout for a while - and making a diagram, thank goodness - I sewed them together with a 1/2-inch seam, then topstitched on either side of each seam, catching the seam allowances in. I could have sewn butted seams, but I liked the look of the topstitched seams and I thought they'd probably hold up better. There was enough of the print left to cut 1 1/2-inch strips for binding. I sewed the binding to the right side of the blanket all the way around with a 3/8-inch seam allowance, then turned it over the seam allowances to the back, and stitched in the ditch all the way around, catching the edge of the binding in back. At least, that was the idea; in practice, I should have either sewn a narrower seam or trimmed the seam allowances, because it was a struggle catching in the binding edge. In some places it's stitched three times, and it looks a right mess in back. Oh, well; lesson learned!

Of course, this was after finishing the five one-piece outfits for my friend's little boy. I was able to deliver them this evening and I'm happy to say they are a big success. I'm told they fit perfectly with just enough room to grow, and he gave them a beautiful sweet smile when they put one on him this evening. I'm very content with that result!

Next up, another batch, this time for his little brother. Also, things are starting to move along just a little as far as getting organized with producing these on a wider basis. A friend of ours on the West Coast is a professional pattern designer, and she's willing to lend a hand with developing our ideas and drafting patterns! So exciting! Bit by bit, I'm moving closer to my goals.