Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Crinkle Corner Tag Blanket Tutorial


If you’re not already familiar, I’d like to introduce you to the best and hottest baby gift, tag blankets! There’s something about those little loopies that babies love! You can find blankets and toys with ribbon loops made by the Taggie Company in stores all over these days. Taggie patented the whole ribbon loop thing, and they’ll getcha if you attempt to make & sell a tag blanket, so don’t do that. But, you can make a tag blanket for your own little or to give as a gift. Handmade tag blankets are my favorite baby shower gift to give! The blankets I make incorporate some unique materials so they’re even more of a tactile experience than the mass manufactured kind. So here you have it, my tutorial for a crinkle corner tag blanket:

1)Cut two 14 inch squares of fabric. Minky and Satin is a dreamy combination that makes for blankets with the ultimate cuddle factor! You could use other fabrics like cotton, flannel, or fleece, but once you try Minky and Satin there’s no going back!
2)Cut 12 ribbons that coordinate with your fabric. I use grosgrain, satin, sheer, & velvet ribbons to create a sensory experience. We want the baby to explore the blanket, so mix it up and keep it interesting. I also like some of the ribbon loops to be short & some long, so I don’t cut them each the same length. I do however; make sure they’re not longer than 5 inches because I don’t want the baby to get tangled up in them.

3)Fold the ribbons in half, and pin them, raw edges in line with the raw edges of the fabric, to the right side of the Minky. Pin them so that the ribbons are spaced 3 ½ inches apart.

4)Sew the ribbons to the Minky using a ¼ inch seem allowance.
5)Place the satin on top of the Minky, right sides together (the ribbon loops will be sandwiched between the Minky and satin) and pin.
6)Now for the fun part, the crinkle! Add another dimension to your blanket and give it that crunchy feel and sound. You can find some stuff being sold as “crinkle material” online, which is what I use just because I have experience with it, but you can use cellophane too… I’ve even seen someone use a candy wrapper. Cut your crinkle into an 8 inch square, fold it in half to make a triangle and pin it on top of the satin in one corner.

7)Sew a ½ inch seem all around the blanket leaving a space between two ribbons to turn through. Be sure you catch both sides of your crinkle corner.

8)Finish the seems. This is an important step because it will prevent the ribbons & satin from fraying and give it that extra strength to stand up to all the play it’s sure to get. If you have a serger, lucky you, definitely use that. I use an overcast stitch on my sewing machine that’s specifically for finishing seems… but you could use a zig zag stitch if you don’t have that.
9)Turn the blanket right sides out and lightly press. CAUTION: You could scorch the satin and melt the Minky, so don’t use a hot setting on your iron and go quickly over the crinkle or it could melt too.

10)Pin the opening closed. Using a thread the same color as the Minky, top stitch all around the blanket, being sure to close up the opening.


Okay now go be the hit of a baby shower near you!


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2 comments:

Judy Whatilivefor said...

When I made some Taggie balls, someone commented that they use wax paper for crinkly sounds, but I was wondering what I could use that was washable...thanks! Now I know :)

Great tutorial by the way!

Anonymous said...

where did you buy your crinkle material from?

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