Pillow and Blanket Tutorial

I made this pillow and blanket set using a no-sew fleece blanket kit from Joann's.  (Why would I want to not sew something?  It's a crazy thought!)  This would work with any fleece you may have on hand, though.  The length and width is dependent upon how big you want the pillow and blanket to be.  I didn't do a whole lot of measuring, so I can't tell you how big my final blankets and pillows were.  

Using the blanket kit, the first thing I did was cut 24 inches of length off of the bottom of both fabrics and used that for the pillow.  The larger pieces were used for the blanket.

Pillow:  

The first thing you are going to need is a circle.  The first one I did was a 6 inch circle, but I wanted this one to be a little bigger, so I went with an 8 inch circle.

I took a piece of paper, folded it in quarters and, from the corner of the fold, I measured out 4 inches.

Then I just moved my ruler a little bit, keeping the end at the corner, and continued to mark it in an arc.

 Cut on the lines, unfold, and there you have a circle!

  That was my pattern to cut out 2 circles from the fleece.

 Now, to determine the circumference of the circle...I had to Google it.  The formula is diameter x pi.  So, in my case 8 inches x 3.14 = 25.12.  I rounded up to 25.5 and cut that length from my contrasting fleece.

 Now, fold that in half (Watch out for little baby feet that assume you laid the cutting mat out for her to dance on!) and sew the ends together.  That should leave you with a tube.

Take one of your circles and match it up (right sides in) as best as you can and pin it in.  

Do the same with the opposite end.

Now, sew that circle in.  I found the best way to keep it aligned was just to go slowly and keep the sides always matched up.  

I know.  My technical knowledge and skill is blowing you away.  Have I mentioned I'm pretty much a beginning sewer?  You'd never guess!

Anyway....remember to leave an opening in one end so that you can turn it and stuff it.

 Stuff it good and full.  

Little hands like this work, though they slow it down considerably.  Still, what else could you be doing, right?

Please note how I have the vacuum out where people can see it when they walk in the door.  That way they think they I've been busy cleaning.  It's a good trick.

Once it is stuffed, sew it closed and *bing* you've got an awesome little pillow.

Note:  I seem to have trouble stuffing my pillows evenly.  No worries, though.  As it has been laid on and loved, those lumps have evened out and it looks normal now.

Blanket:

Now, um....I seem to have forgotten that I was doing a tutorial.  But, the blanket was pretty simple.  Take the larger pieces, put them together (right sides out, wrong sides together), and topstitch all the way around.  I left and edge of probably about 3 inches.  

After sewing them together, cut the corners off.  Then, cut a fringe by cutting 2 inch slits, 1 inches apart all the way around.  

I got a pretty good picture of that.

Your blanket, with matching pillow, is complete!

O is in heaven with hers! 

It's good for "sleeping."

Shhhhh, we're resting.

It's good for cuddling... 

...and hugging... 

...and kissing! 

What more could you want from a pillow and blanket?

Linking up:

Night Owl Crafting 

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees

Young and Crafty