Winter arrived. It was quite all-of-a-sudden-ly. Now, cold hands and woolly hats are abundant.


The park froze over. The puddles are miniature ice-rinks. Jumpers and cardigans have been replaced by snowsuits. There was, in fact, even snow. In London. In NOVEMBER!


I haven't been crafting much as it seems that I spend more time making sandwiches for lunches, cleaning up after messy baby and washing bottles than on anything I actually want to do. Ya know, like knit a cardigan, or a pair of socks, or ... anything, really.

I did, however, make an eensy weensy and snuggly warm baby blanket for a friend's baby shower. Just a few evenings after baby has gone to bed and et voila! Instant craft satisfaction.


Take one cheery fleece fabric print (hot air balloons AND rainbows)...


... and blanket stitch all the way around the outside to make a base for a neat crochet edge. This keeps the fleecy bits all neat and tidy for washing later on.

Oh em gee.


This fabric is the most super-huggable, must-havable, soft-as-anything stuff. Here in the UK it's called dimple cuddle plush, but it seems that almost everywhere else it is called minky. Soft like mink? Not sure. But. Seriously. Once I felt it, I really wanted to replace all of my bedding with yards and yards of it. I wanted to wrap up in it like a giant fabric burrito and hide away from the world. If it was socially acceptable, I'd replace my entire wardrobe with cuddle plush dresses. Seriously.


Okay okay. So, I bought some. Just a wee bit -- a mere 75x100cm. It was destined to be a baby blanket. But, silly me, when buying it from Plush Addict online, I didn't notice that it was single sided. The back wasn't soft at all. I was gutted. My plans for the quickest and easiest baby blanket ever (fold over edges, stitch down and DONE) were foiled. I had to add a backing fabric. Still, it could be worse eh?


I cut the backing about two inches larger all round, got out my sewing machine's walking foot, and quilted the two layers together using really simple diagonal lines. I didn't measure - I just counted every ten dots and stitched a diagonal line down. It's really easy to get the lines nice and straight when the fabric has a consistent pattern. Then, I cut the lining down to an inch larger all round and folded each edge over in half, pressing as I went along.


Fold it over one more time and stitch down - and you're done. You have a perfectly bound-from-the-back baby blanket that's done in twenty minutes or less. Ta da! I feel very proud of myself. Like a minky-wrapped Cheshire Cat.

Then fold the unfolded-side's binding in half, and back over the front as usual.

The cuddle plush fabric is in the tiffany blue colourway. I bought it partially because I love that soft aqua colour, and partially because of the name. I know, it's like judging a book by its cover. Shocking. The backing fabric I chose is navy blue scattered with white, burgundy, blue and pink flowers (from Stitch). If the cuddle plush wasn't so expensive, I'd make a guilt-free adult-sized version for my bed - can you imagine the softness in winter?!