Hi friends!
Today I want to share with you my latest crafty projects. In my post about embroidered kitchen towels, I mentioned that I started using my embroidery machine for monograms when I first received the machine. They weren’t great, but I am definitely improving! These blankets I made are a testament to my continued embroidery practice 🙂
As you can see, these blankets are made from just a simple piece of fleece. These blankets measure approximately 50” x 60”. The first step was to buy up a bunch of the blankets at Walmart, because these specific ones come out only around the holidays. Then, I make a note of who will receive which design! I think I know my friends and family pretty well, so this part was fun.
After designing the monograms on my Singer Futura software, I got to the stitching. I think my favorite font is the interlocking cursive. I especially love the tie dye blanket with the white monogram and the white crochet scalloped edge. It really pops, don’t you think?
After embroidering comes crochet! The really great thing about these fleece blankets from Walmart is that the blanket stitch around the edge is already there! I didn’t have to do the blanket stitch myself - huge time saver. Starting the crochet border is easy; make a slip knot in any stitch near a corner and begin with a single crochet (sc) base. Then, double crochet (dc) or half double crochet (hdc) in the sc row. If you’d like to add scallops, skip the first hdc stitch, dc 5 in next stitch, skip one hdc, slip stitch. Repeat all the way around. Voila!
For some of the blankets with a more intricate embroidery design, I opted to leave the crochet out. This personalized fairy was for my grandmother-in-law, who is an avid reader of fantasy fiction, so I was very happy with how it turned out!
A little wonky spot on the j here... could have gotten the design closer to the corner... must keep practicing!
The only thing I would do differently here is change the teal embroidery thread on this snowman blanket to red. I’m not sure why I didn’t do it in red in the first place! The teal doesn’t stand out as much as I had hoped. Once I finished the simple, red crochet border I realized it would have tied in the red mittens and red monogram so well...sigh. 😌
What’s your favorite quick & easy DIY?
Do you enjoy personalizing your gifts, too?