DIY Simple Quilted Throw Blanket

I’ve shared a lot of sewing projects over the years for someone who actually doesn’t really know what they’re doing. Ha! But this simple quilted throw is basically a faux quilt and is really easy! I made the whole thing in one afternoon. It’s not perfect by any means but it’s very forgiving once it was washed.

This summer I volunteered to teach a kids class at camp and we made these simple crafts that required a tiny bit of sewing to finish. So I would sit at the sewing machine and the kids would bring their projects up to me right at the end. Half way through, one of the mom’s came up and said, “So it looks like you don’t sew often.” Hahaha! The best part is, I really do sew all the time – I just never learned the technical stuff.

I didn’t do measuring with the stitched pattern I did on this and I tried to let the lines be not super straight anyways so it looked a bit more organic. And just look how cute it turned out!

cream quilted blanket folded up and tied with string

Materials

  • fabric (I used the same on the front and back of the quilt but you could do different colors. Needed about 3 yds of this but will depend on the width of the fabric you choose. I went with an unbleached muslin.)
  • batting (I did baby size but you could do a larger throw if you prefer.)
  • sewing machine
  • thread
  • scissors
  • double fold bias tape (I needed two packs.)
  • pins
  • pencil
  • ruler

Instructions

  • Cut top and bottom fabric and batting to size.
  • Iron fabric.
  • Layer the fabric and batting with outside of fabric facing out on both top and bottom with batting in between.
  • Pin in place.
  • Start stitching desired pattern. I did five straight lines down the long sides of the blanket and repeated on the long other side. Backstitching at the beginning and end to secure. In the middle of the blanket – between the two sets on straight lines, I did dashed lines. I would start the same way and over each line I would go forward for a few stitches, backwards and forward again. Then I just picked up the foot and slide the quilt back however far I wanted the dashes apart and then repeated this for the rest of the blanket. But you can do any patterns or design you would like!
  • Trim off excess thread from ends and between dashed lines and remove pins.
BIAS TAPE
  • Open up bias tape and line it up with the edge of the backside of the quilt, inside of bias tape facing up.
  • Pin in place.
  • Stitch right on the first fold line.
  • When you’re almost to the end of the bias tape, stop and attach the next bias tape package to the current one.
  • With the right sides of the bias tape facing in, line them up at a 90° angle. (Long side of one, lined up with the short side of the other.)
  • Pin them in place.
  • Use a pencil and ruler to draw a diagonal line between the corners.
  • Stitch along this line and trim off triangle from end.
  • Open up and continue stitching along edge as you were doing previously.
  • For corners, stop stitching about 1/2″ before the edge, raise foot and twist fabric so that you stitch at a 45° angle to the corner.
  • Fold the unattached bias tape along that 45° angle and then down over itself at another 45° angle. It should now line up with the next side of the blanket.
  • Continue stitching until finished and remove pins.
  • Fold bias tape around the edge of the quilt – back into its original shape. (You should have 1/2″of fabric on each side of the quilt.)
  • Pin in place.
  • Stitch as close to the inside edge of the bias tape as possible, being sure to backstitch at the beginning and end.
  • Trim any excess thread.
  • Wash and enjoy!

If any of these instructions are confusing (Ha!), we have a short on YouTube that might help!

overhead shot of toddler in jeans, white shirt and green sweater surrounded by blankets
close up side shot of cream quilted blanket folded up and tied with string
blonde toddler holding quilted throw over head with arms out to side
close up of corners of quilted throw folded over on top of each other
blone toddler wearing white shirt, green sweater and jeans wrapped in cream quilted blanket

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