Minky Baby Blanket Simplified
Remember the minky baby blanket from way back when? I think I called it the perfect baby blanket. Well, I love them just as much now as I did in the beginning. Knowing there were a few babies due to arrive in our crazy month of August I spent a day and made these 3 blankets.
I love how quickly they sew up and cruised through them until it was time for the binding. And even though I had really cute coordinating fabric picked out for the binding I just couldn’t talk myself into going through all the work for the binding. The cutting, the ironing, the sewing–too many steps.
So I cheated. Instead of adding binding I did a rolled hem stitch.
Fold it over once.
Then fold again and sew.
There’s no messing with tricky corners of a binding, just be sure you have all the ends tucked in before you sew it up.
That’s all there is to it! So easy and so fast!
It’s still the perfect baby blanket, just a lot faster!
The original tutorial for the minky blanket is here with all the instruction of how to make this blanket (with a real binding).
If you are looking for a swaddling blanket, the muslin blanket is great for swaddling and for covering up while breastfeeding in public! And they are super fast to make! Be sure to check out all our baby projects for more ideas.
What’s your go to baby gift?
I LOVE this! So cute and so much easier than binding the blanket.
This made me chuckle! I saw the original post and it was one of two tutorials I referenced to make my then 18mo son a Cars blanket back in January. I was too lazy (and a bit unsure about it) to make the binding so I did exactly what you’ve shown here and folded under the edges. Works great! 7 months later and he’s still sleeping with his blanket every nap & bedtime. 🙂
What can I say, I’m a little slow! Glad you figured out the shortcut before I did–and that he still loves it!
Great idea! I’ve made several of the minky blankets. I have been purchasing blanket binding and using that for the edges. Perfect for the baby that likes the silky feel, as well as the minky feel.
I know a number of women having babies in the next month and a half. I’ve been wondering about gifts. By number three, do you need more blankets? A hooded towel? What do third babies need?
Definitely a hooded towel! My MIL made one for each of my children and I love them!
I just love minky blankets and I’ve been making them for all of my friends that have babies, but I’ve also been making extra big ones for myself!!! I have 3 of my own that are minky on BOTH sides and 60″x72″ 😀 perfect for snuggling into while watching tv!
Are the adult size minky quilts actually quilted or were the edges just sewn like on the baby blankets?
LOVE this tutorial! I used to sew, but I’ve gotten out of the habit. Nonetheless, I think even *I* could make this! My normal go-to baby gift is a personalized cross-stitch piece. But this may just be my new one…
what colort thread did you use?
I used coordinating thread for each blanket. Pink thread with the yellow minky blanket, and green thread on the blue and brown minky.
This is so cute! I was wondering if you sewed the two sides together first and then did the roll hem or if the rolled hem was the only sewing keeping the two sides together. Sorry – I’m new to the world of sewing! Thanks! 🙂
I am also new to sewing but want to try and make this blanket! How much material do you use?
I love these blankets!! I would like to make my boy/girl twins one for Christmas!! Thanks for sharing…
Vintage Momma
I made the blanket! I was so nervous to start because I haven’t sewed in so long, but it turned out super cute and was pretty easy! Here’s how mine turned out: http://bit.ly/obAnQX
Hi…I love this and am almost done with my first one…but I just broke a needle doing the double folded end! Ugh! What kind/size needle(s) did you use?
Thanks for sharing. I am in love 🙂
i tried sewing a minky with a flannel back. The material shifted alot.
Please help. Are the two pieces of material the same size. Do I sew with the flannel on top?
New to sewing and scared. Please help.
These blankets are adorable! I made two baby blanket/quilts using Minkee backing, with mixed results both times — mixed for me; the moms and babies loved them anyway! 🙂 Even though I prewashed my cotton quilt fabrics for the quilt tops, they seemed to continue shrinking after the finished quilt was washed, and of course the Mikee does NOT shrink, so the backing started to sag and bag between the quilting. In both cases I put a thin cotton quilt batting behind the cotton quilt backing for body and hopefully to help the layers “stick” better. In the first quilt, I just tied the quilt at the block corners but when it was finished it didn’t seem quilted enough to call it a quilt. The second time, I actually did heavy quilting of the quilt top and batting only, THEN put the backing on and did some tacking throughout, then put satin biding on the edges. Still, after the final wash I had additional shrinking of the quilt top and the backing was sagging. Grrr… Now the mom of that last baby quilt is begging for another one like it for her #2 on the way and I’m trying to think of ways to improve my process for better and less frustrating results.
SO… How do you pretreat the other fabrics you use with Minkee? Should I be prewashing in super hot water multiple times before I even cut the fabric to get all of the shrinking over with? I think I washed once in warm water last time. Also, do you use any batting when you make your blankets, or just the two visible fabrics? Maybe I’m getting the shrinkage from the batting, which I never preshrink.
Also, I notice your quilting stitches seem to go all the way through the blankets. I was afraid to quilt through the Minkee because I thought it might look ugly on the back side and mess up the furry texture, but yours looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing your beautiful blankies!
Hi. What material do you use on the other side of the minky? Is it flannel or cotton? I want to make one of these for my sister because they are SUPER cute! 🙂 Please let me know. Thanks.
These look like she used cotton material (I recognize the dark flower one as a cotton print from Hobby Lobby), but I’ve tried both cotton and flannel with minky backs (using this method) and both have turned out great for me! I did NOT like using regular cotton and minky together with the old ‘right sides together, turn inside out’ method, but using this method it works out great I thought!
I’m new to sewing- how do you sew through the thick corners?
Hi! I’m new to sewing and looking to upgrade my current machine. I was just wondering what brand/model you use? It seems like a lot of the machines out there aren’t minky/thick fabric friendly. Also, how did you sew through the thick corners or did you go over those by hand? Thanks!
When I started making these I had a cheap Brother machine that really struggled with the corners, in fact they it was almost impossible to sew them. But a couple years ago I upgraded to a higher model Viking-Husquavarna (I bought it used) that doesn’t have any problem with the thick corners. Now I wish that I hadn’t started with a low level machine because it caused so much frustration when I tried to sew.
Hi! Im new to sewing but would really like to make this blanket..! I have a couple of questions…
What type of needle did you use??? And what kind of thread?? Sew all fabric thread..!? (Yes im that new to this =) )
Thanks in advance =]…!!
Just wanted to say thank you so much for the tutorial!! I made one blanket for my friends toddler and another for a friend who is expecting. They loved them. I did the toddler one with warm & white batting inside and it came out fabulous! I didn’t have any trouble with the edges (came in about a quarter inch from the edge to top stitch the rolled edge down because of the thickness) but I did hand sew the corners because it was a bit too thick and I didn’t want to damage the machine. I will say for anyone new to minky like I was – using a walking foot made the minky so much easier to handle. It didn’t shift or pull it tug. I’d never used a sewing machine before – just got it as a gift. I was so happy to make things so simple and nice on my first tries! Thanks!
I make my baby blankets with the corners rounded instead of the pointed corners that way you don’t have to worry about the baby getting poked in the eye …
I love this idea! I’m all for “cheating” when possible! I’m actually making a flannel-and-minky quilt right now… I’ve never worked with minky fabric before, and I’m really finding the cutting to be a pain! I feel like I measure and measure and measure, but the fabric slips every time I go to cut it. Any tips?
awesomely simple!
Try a lightweight iron on interfacing before cutting. The lightweight interfacing can be removed after sewing.
My error – NO heat on milky. I should have said use a light spray adhesive to attach a light weight interface fabric…sorry!
Lovely blanket, what were your measurements for the blanket? I swear measuring and cutting will be the death of me!
I used minky on a baby blanket, but the minky got a lot of pintucks as I quilted on the cotton top. I did baste the quilt all over by hand before machine quilting. Any suggestions for keeping the minky in place?
I love this but am concerned with the cotton shrinking. Do you pre-wash? Do you use a quilt batting? Thank you.
Just made this. Was a little uncertain at first, but I love it! Just in time for a shower tomorrow. Will be making another for a shower next weekend, too. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
BTW, I definitely have a love-hate relationship with minky. It’s so pretty and soft, but kind of a pain to sew. For this project, I sewed 2 side seams, then did the diagonal “quilting”, then trimmed the extra (even thought they were cut to the same size) minky, then did the rolled hem and it worked great!
I love this cozy baby blanket idea! Can’t wait to make one. THANK YOU!!!
Do you pin along the line that you plan to sew?
Nope, the pins are just random. I count over 5 dots after sewing a line and start there.
Can you tell me how this no binding is to work with both layers of fabrics? I can’t even sew through the corners with my machine. One it does not fit with my footer on, two it breaks my needles, even heavy duty or if I try to manually use the needle it constantly throws the tension off and mAkes an awful mess of thread everywhere. I find this incredibly more frustrating than binding and now have an incomplete blanket I have to either cut or spend time removing 3 sides of the binding with a seam cutter.
Oh no! One of my sewing machines has the hardest time with minky, so I totally understand your frustration. But my other machine sews multiple layers of minky without a problem.
Hi. Maybe this is a dumb question, so accept my apologies in advance. Do you use cotton as the other fabric? Thank you!
What type grid did you use to sew the two pieces together in the diamond pattern?
I think it was 4 dots by 4 dots. Hope that helps.