This post is sponsored by Babylock Sewing, but all opinions are my own.
Hi everyone! Today’s post is all about baby swaddles! Whether you’re making some for yourself or as a gift for a friend, you’ll be surprised at just how easy these are! I personally love having both knit and woven swaddles for a new baby. Knit swaddles are soft and I love how they can stretch around the baby to make a tight and cozy swaddle. Woven (or gauze) swaddles are light and airy for those babies born in warmer months, and make great covers on the go for covering carseats, nursing, wiping up spills, etc. I always like to have a few of each on hand for a new baby.
I picked up both of these fabrics at my local Joann Store, and I bought 1 1/2 yards of each, and my blankets ended by being around 46″ x 46″. I picked up a super soft floral knit fabric as well a woven gauze fabric. For these projects, I used my Babylock Brilliant Sewing Machine and Celebrate Serger. I’ll walk you through how I made each one.
How to Make a Knit Swaddle Blanket
First, cut out a square of fabric measuring about 47″ x 47″ OR your desired size.
Next, decide if you want rounded edges or cornered edges. For this tutorial, I decided to do rounded edges.
To round off your edge, line up all four corners of your blanket (folded in fourths), and lay a round plate at the corner. Trace and cut along the rounded edge.
For this particular finish, I used my Babylock Celebrate serger. I decided to use a three thread lettuce rolled hem finish for a slightly nicer look. A few other options are a basic 4- thread serge finish, or if you don’t have a serger you could add a binding around the edges, zig zag stitch or even leave it raw!
To set up your Baby Lock Celebrate serger for a three-thread rolled hem lettuce finish, remove your left needle and thread, and set your dials and tension as shown in the photos below:
I ALWAYS recommend testing out the stitch on a scrap of the same fabric first before sewing on the actual project. Adjust the tension on the 4th dial if you need to until you are happy with the stitch. The next part is easy! Begin sewing the edge of the blanket all the way around to finish! Make sure to slightly pull the fabric as it goes through the machine to give that slight ruffle and lettuce edge. I love the feminine look this adds to the blanket. You could also do a plain rolled hem finish if you’re not into the lettuce edge.
Easy peasy and super cute! I also made a matching headband to go with this knit swaddle. You can find the tutorial here.
How to Sew a Woven Gauze Swaddle Blanket
First, cut a sqaure of fabric at about 47″ x 47″.
Next, prep the raw edges of the blanket by pressing the edges to the wrong side once at 1/4″. Gauze tends to stretch a little as it’s being worked with. You can straighten out the edge by trimming off any stretched corners.
Fold and press one more time at 1/4″ once more, pin the edge in place.
Using an edge-sticth foot or foot R if you are sewing with Baby Lock like me, and moving the needle over to the left a few times, sew all the around the edge of the blanket right along the folded edge. When you come to a corner, make sure to follow the folded edge to the end, and then backstitching to the pivot point to match up the with next edge of the blanket.
And that’s all! Woven gauze blankets are super easy to make, and will definitely be well loved!!
I hope you liked this tutorial! I’ve loved using both of these swaddles with my new baby, and I know they would make a great baby gift for loved ones, too! I think I need to make another knit blanket with the lettuce edge finish because it is just so so pretty!! Happy sewing everyone!
The Sara Project 