Konbit Sante Receiving Blankets

Lisa and I finally finished up the 30 tote bags and 30 receiving blankets for Sunday's party to benefit Craft Hope Project 11, Konbit Sante. 

Now I just need to make 30 tiny stuffed animals and we should be all set for Sunday.
By the way, if you missed it, the free tutorial for making receiving blankets in posted on our blog.  They make a really great baby shower gift. 

Free Receiving Blanket Tutorial for Konbit Sante Craft Hope

This morning I put together this tutorial on making a basic receiving blanket.  No Serger Required. 

This tutorial will make a blanket sized for swaddling.  Most receiving blankets you buy from the store are sized 30"x30" which is not ideal for swaddling. 

  You start with a 34"x36" piece of flannel.  I cut it with the rotary to make sure that it was perfect. 

Next you can serge the edges or you can use an overcast zigzag stitch.  To make an overcast zigzag, you need to set your machine to the widest zigzag setting.  I keep the stitch length short.  You should line the fabric up in the middle of the foot.  In the right position, the needle will not catch your fabric. 

 In the left position of the zigzag stitch, the needle will enter the fabric.  This overcast zigzag will encase the raw edge to prevent fraying in the wash.

Stitch around the entire blanket.  It might cause the fabric to wave, so you will want to press the blanket when you are finished. 

Finally, I added a little double heart applique by ironing some craft fuse onto cotton and then fusing it to the blanket. 

Craft Hope for Haiti Free Soft Doll Pattern

For those of you who love Craft Hope and are looking to put together some birthing kits for Haiti, I am going to give you a free soft doll pattern.  This bunny is a breeze to make.  Seriously, 15 minutes tops.  I know, I made about 50 of these.  P.S. they are well loved by kids everywhere.  If you want the full pattern (which makes a larger bunny) with all of the pieces and a step-by-step photo tutorial, you can click here and you will be taken to our etsy shop where you can purchase it.  We will be using all of the proceeds from this pattern to make birthing kits for Craft Hope. 

You cannot get much easier than this for a pattern.  It uses fleece, which is a great material for kids items.  It washed well, holds up to a serious beating, it's cheap, and it's easy to sew.  For this pattern I also used some scraps of cotton to applique on the tummy and for the ears.  You could use all felt if you wanted.  I used safety eyes, but simple eyes from felt would also work for a baby.

The basic instructions are:

Cut 2 bodies from fleece or cotton
Cut 1 tummy from fleece or cotton
Cut 2 ears from fleece
Cut 2 ears from contrasting fleece or cotton
Cut 1 tummy (it's an oval - no pattern piece provided)
Cut 1 nose from fleece or felt (small triangle)
Cut 2 eyes

On one piece of the body, applique on the tummy, nose and eyes.  Stitch on a mouth.

Place your ears RIGHT sides together and stitch.  Trim and turn. 

On the RIGHT side of the Bunny Body Back, put the ears on the top of the head, pointing down so that they will be caught in the seam. Layer the body front RIGHT side down onto the back.  Sew around the bunny body, leaving the bottom (the flat part) open to turn and stuff.  Trim, turn and stuff the bunny.  Stitch the bottom closed with the machine.  You could put a couple of short (less than 2 inches) ribbon loops in there for baby to chew on, but the ears will probably be enough. 

Click here for the pattern

Follow the blog (and let us know with an email to boutiqueit@aol.com) and I will email you a basic tote bag pattern and tutorial.