If you’ve read the blog before then you’ve probably picked up on the fact that my sons are big super hero fans. Big time. I made my older son a Batman blanket and my younger son has been asking for his own super hero blanket ever since.
Every time I asked him who he wanted on his blanket the answer changed. Sometimes he said Batman, sometimes Superman, sometimes the Flash. Finally I found an awesome fabric that had them all on it plus a few other Super Friends.
I wanted to make the blanket snugly and give it a little weight by adding a soft backing, so I chose fleece in a blue that coordinates with the blue on the front. I prefer to do it this way over using batting, quilting, and then binding the edges… mostly because I am lazy.
Here’s what you need to make a blanket like this:
- 2 yards of Meet the Heroes woven cotton
- 2 yards of no-pill fleece
- ballpoint needle
Here’s how I made it:
Step 1- Wash, dry, and iron the cotton fabric for the front. Wash and dry the fleece but do not iron it.
Step 2- Lay out the woven cotton fabric that you’re using for the front. Trim off the selvedges and any excess that you don’t want showing on the front.
Step 3- Lay the fleece backing out on the floor and lay the cotton front on top of it, with the right sides together. Pin them together around the edges.
Step 4- Sew almost all the way around the edge of the fabric but stop short about 5-6 inches. Sew about 1/2 inch from the edge. Be sure to backstitch when you begin and end.
Step 5- Trim the corners. This will help the corners to be nicer and more square once you turn it right side out.
Step 6- Turn the blanket right side out using the opening. Use a screw driver, a pen with a cap, or something similar to push the corners out.
Step 7- Smooth the fabric down nice and flat. Iron the cotton fabric side on low.
Step 8- Pin around the edges again, and put some pins in the middle to keep the blanket from shifting. Top stitch around the edge of the blanket, sewing about 1/2 inch from the edge.
Step 9- To keep things from shifting around, you have to do some quilting somewhere in the middle of the blanket. Because my fleece backing is blue I opted to sew around the black border of the squares around Superman so that the thread would blend in on the front side as well as on the back. I just chose Superman at random so that the sewn areas would be evenly spaced out. The stitching is hard to see on the front of the blanket but you can see the squares on the back.
And that’s it! I’ve got one happy little guy, just in time for his third Birthday, too.
I love watching my boys run around in their capes saving the day. They come up with the best adventure stories. Are your kids into super heroes? Which ones?
