Back to the blanket - final touches

So today after waving good bye to BIL and very very loud nephew, well he seemed loud, older than my two and much much more boisterous. I sat down amidst the calm and quiet and lined the baby blanket. Today's post is all about that.


Gillian asked me line the blanket with woven fleecy cotton giving two very sensible reasons. First so the baby would not snag the floats with little sharp newborn fingernails, and second so the blanket would have some grip and not slide off in the wee small hours of the night. A real pro at mother-hood I suspect. I realise that my elaborate finishing of the steek is now hidden - but still have not come up with any nicer solution. I could have bound the blanket with the fleecy cotton, but it would have been bulky and probably suffered from 'differential shrinkage'* between the cotton and the wool and puckered.
I cut a lining in fleecy brushed cotton, about 6 cm larger than the fair isle centre section of the blanket. Then I pressed under just over a cm to neaten the edges and than about a 4 hem to make the lining sized to sit inside the ridge of the blanket edgeing. I mitred the corners and machine stitched the hem in place close to the fold line.



I pinned the blanket together at the corners, and evened out any extra length along the edges with pins. I suspect the edges have stretched somewhat with working the facing. Then I used a double strand of machine stitching thread, and mattress stitch or ladder stitched the lining to the 'bump' of the facing edge. A gentle tug and it pulled neatly into place. I used quite long stitches, as I wanted to keep the blanket edge flexible not pulled tight and stiff.







I pinned and worked each edge in turn, until meeting back up at the beginning. When finished you can just see the stitches, so the lining could be removed once the baby has grown. It does make the blanket almost quilted, much thicker and warmer. I have toyed with using a few lazy daisy stitches in the left over yarn to secure the backing to the blanket - but do worry they will snag the yarn floats.















and I just have to celebrate the i-cord edging with you, it works so well, such a resolved finish. I am very happy to know about that technique.



and here is a view of the right side and 'other' side corner - there is no way I could call this the wrong side. Delivery to Gillian is August 9-11th some time, and Baby is expected a week or so latter. I hemmed the left over fleecy cotton to make a matching wrap/sheet/spill cloth. You can never have to many of those when babies are about.


*Thats my textile scientist side showing - in the use of terms such as 'differential shrinkage'.