Flannel Baby Blanket and Burp Cloths

New babies in the family always bring a joyful noise! And they present the opportunity to make my favorite gift − a baby blanket with matching burp cloths. When grand niece Kinley arrived, I made a quick trek to the fabric store and came home with 2 yards of coordinating baby flannel and two cones of complementary Woolly Nylon serger thread. I like to prewash my fabrics, so once that was done and the fabric pressed, I placed the flannel pieces, wrong sides together, on a large cutting surface. I cut the largest square possible given the dimensions of the fabric and used a dinner plate to round the corners. A few pins at the corners helped keep the layers together. I then threaded the Woolly Nylon in the loopers of my serger with cotton thread in the left needle and created a balanced 3-thread wide overlock stitch around the entire edge. I always keep the fabric scraps to test the stitch settings to achieve the perfect stitch.

With the remaining fabric, I cut the largest possible rectangles, still with the fabric placed wrong sides together. I then adjusted my serger so that the stitch finger (or tongue) was in the rolled hem position. Using the same threads and left needle, and after testing to achieve a balanced narrow edge, I finished the edges of the burp cloths. Using a seam sealant at the corners prevents the threads from unraveling but be sure it dries soft to the touch.

Hopefully one day I will get a picture of Kinley swaddled in her new blanket sleeping peacefully! I’ll bet her mom and dad hope the blanket does the trick!