Sew Very Smooth Blog

This week I've tried to spend as much time as I can on the weighted blanket but it hasn't been easy. I'm still dealing with the pressure in my head which makes bending over painful. Thankfully I only had to bend over while I marked the blanket for the columns that I needed to use to fill with beads and then the subsequent row markings. 

I chose to mark the back side because it is white and easier to see the markings. I will admit I was getting frustrated with the marking pencil I had. The tip kept breaking off so I'd have to stop to sharpen it again. When I bought it I didn't think it would matter if I had a particular brand so I just bought the first one I found, but now I'm learning I should ask opinions for everything, even something as seemingly insignificant as a pencil.

So, do you have a particular brand or type of pencil that you like to use? I can't continue using this blue one, I'll pull my hair out. Plus, I've sharpened over half of it away already. 

I wanted to make sure the pockets of beads were all the same size. I decided on four inch squares. That meant I had to have twelve columns and then I'd have fifteen rows. 

The markings are light, but it was easy enough to see to sew on. I used my Ideal Seam Guide again so I was able to keep the lines straight even though I was sewing such a large piece of material. 

Once the columns were finished I started fill them with beads. The goal is to have the blanket weigh six pounds. That worked out to each pocket containing half of an ounce. 

I almost made a huge mistake on the first row. I accidentally divided the amount of rows by the weight so I thought I needed two and a half ounces per pocket. Thankfully, I had only filled six of the twelve columns before I realized what I had done. I had to empty out each column and start again, but at least I hadn't sewn the pockets closed yet.

So far, I've only finished four rows. It is incredibly time consuming because the beads like to stick to the flannel so getting them to fall down to the bottom of the column takes patience. I hadn't thought of that potential problem when I picked flannel. I imagine it will go faster the closer to the 'top' I get. 

How do you know which material is best? I know cotton makes the best quilts, but you can't stick with only cotton all the time, can you? 

On a positive note, the pink thread I picked really pops against the white and black which I love. It blends in to the pink plaid on the other side a little more than I had anticipated it would. That's not a bad thing, I just thought it would be a little more apparent than it is. I didn't think to snap a picture of the front to show what I'm talking about. I'll definitely have a picture when the blanket is finished. I have to finish it next week. We are in the final stretch before Christmas and I have a deadline. I should get back to sewing. 

My weighted blanket project has begun. It was a little overwhelming going to the store to pick out material to use. There are so many different combinations of textures, patterns, and colors that it's hard to whittle it down. Does anyone have any advice on how they plan their fabric choices? Do you go to the store with just the color scheme in mind or do you have patterns and shapes planned as well? 

To give me a starting point, I decided to focus on texture and color. My daughter is sensitive to textures and because this is supposed to help with her anxiety I thought it best to have material that will be comforting to her. The top choice for that purpose was flannel. From there I just had to decide on what prints I wanted. 

I was going to find a cat print since she LOVES cats, but I thought she might grow out of that obsession before she is done needing the blanket, so I went with a pink plaid instead. 

I wanted the blanket to have a distinct front and back so I picked a contrasting pattern for the back, white with grey dots. I wouldn't normally have thought to put plaids and polka dots together but when I walked down the flannel section holding the pink plaid up to each option my heart just felt happy when it was next to the polka dots. I didn't feel I had a choice after that. Has that happened to anyone else or is it just me? 

My goal was to have this blanket be the same size as my favorite throw blanket which is 61" x 48." I had two and a half yards of each fabric and a yard is only 40.5" wide. I had to cut twenty two inches off the end and divide that into two equal pieces then sew those together on the short end. I then sewed the smaller strip to the long side of the wider piece. 

The blanket looks longer on one side, but it's just the way the picture was taken. The blanket is the same length on both ends. 

I tried to line up the seam so that there wouldn't be a break in the plaid pattern, but I wasn't able to. Unfortunately there wasn't enough fabric to line it up and still create the size blanket I wanted. It would have been about eight inches short which is too much. If it had only been an inch or two I would have done it. I'm hoping that once I add the pink stitching for each pouch that holds the weighted beads you won't notice the seam as much. 

This week my life has returned to a normal schedule, or as normal as it can be during the holidays, so I was able to focus more of my time on sewing which I loved. It feels good to work with my hands and even better when that project gets completed and I can see the results of my time and dedication.  I had that satisfaction this week with the completion of my second mini quilt. 

The only step I had left was the binding. I like working on the binding because I know it's good practice. I imagine most quilts I make going forward are going to need to have binding done on them.  

The flip after the binding has initially been sewed on is my favorite part. I don't know why I find it so fascinating, but I do. 

I decided to sew the back by hand again. It was slow going, but worth the time because it lines up perfectly with the existing seam. 

The end quilt is exactly what I hoped it would be. I'm loving the single diagonal quilting stitches. It lets all the fluffiness of the batting come through and makes me want to snuggle up with it even though it's so small. The first quilt I did was nice, but it didn't create that urge to snuggle because it was pretty flat. 

Which brings me to where I left off last week. I had asked if anyone had a preference for quilting in straight lines or in swirls and circles. I love the idea of the swirls. They are visually stunning on a quilt but actually attempting to do them is rather intimidating. I know it would require the use of a free motion foot and lots of practice. Is it worth the time to figure out how to free motion quilt? Would you recommend taking a class to learn or is it possible to teach myself? 

Next week I will start working on a quick new project. Naturally, now that I am learning how to sew, I am drawn to the idea of making gifts for family and friends. This year I don't have time to do much, but I am wanting to attempt to make a weighted blanket for my eight year old daughter who suffers from anxiety. I've wanted to get her one of these special blankets for so long but they are pricey and always seem to be out of stock online. I will be doing a very simple version. It will be just two pieces of material sewn together with pouches for the beads. I'm anxious to get it finished and wrapped and put under the tree. I'll be sure to chronicle my efforts. My Ideal Seam Guide will come in very handy with this project. So exciting!