Zoo Animals Receiving Blanket

A new baby is a great excuse to sew a new quilt – or in this case a baby receiving blanket.

No! I didn’t secretly have a baby!

A neighbour did though so when Fat Quarter Shop asked me to check out their new video tutorial and make a blanket, I was all set.

This quick blanket is made from 10″ squares, sometimes sold in sets known as a Layer Cakes or 10″ Stackers. In the video tutorial, the blanket is made using the lovely Bloom and Bliss range from Riley Blake – so pretty! It is teamed with a plain background fabric.

My blanket was made using an older Riley Blake range called Zoo Alphabet Soup. Instead of adding a plain fabric, I divided a 10″ Stacker into larger prints and smaller prints. The smaller prints look almost like solids from a distance so it creates a similar effect to the original.

However my 10″ Stacker only had 15 squares and the pattern calls for 16 squares so I added one coordinating print from my stash – the retro cars and caravans print on a blue background. I think it works well and I then used this fabric for the backing too.

QUICK TIP:

Mixing and matching fabric lines can give your quilt or blanket a special individual look.

The tutorial makes the process super easy and I really loved the corner rounding tool. This nifty tool allows you to create a perfectly rounded corner every time in either a 3″ or 2″ radius. On this blanket you can line up the ruler lines with the seams on the triangles plus the edges of the tool on the edges of the blanket then trim with a rotary cutter. Easy!

Find the tutorial on Youtube here:

Here’s the corner rounding tool from Creative Grids:

Without any batting this blanket is super quick to create. I added some simple straight line quilting on the background squares just to hold the layers together when the blanket is washed.

QUICK TIP:

When pinning your blocks, try weaving the pins through the fabric a couple of times. The layers will shift less that way.

Find the Free Pattern for this receiving blanket here: Bloom & Bliss Receiving Blanket Pattern

Find the Quilt Kit in Bloom & Bliss fabric here: Bloom & Bliss Receiving Blanket Kit

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by fat Quarter Shop. I received a small payment for trying this tutorial and sharing it with you. All opinions are my own. This type of post helps me keep the content here at The Crafty Mummy free for everyone.