Twiddler Tag Blankie Tutorial

Cindy made our son, Rylan, the cutest little tag blanket shortly before the babe was born. Rylan's just at the age where he's enjoying the tags moreso than the toy it's attached to...so I've made a second one. This makes a great shower gift too. (Thanks Cindy!)

The process was simple and is summarized in the following tutorial:

1. Cut 2 pieces of Minky fabric to be 14" x 14". (I used two different colors, but you may use two of the same instead).



2. Rob your ribbon stash to select numerous colors, sizes and textures of visually interesting ribbon. These will become the tags sewn along the side of the blankie. Cut ribbons into varying lengths, between 2 & 4 inches in length. Use loud colors so your little twiddler can't resist the tags. I added 12 tags to two sides of the blanket. You may adjust this according to your preferences.



3. Folding Ribbons in half, (so that they form a double-sided tag), create tags to be about 1" to 2" long, for safety reasons. Align the raw edges of the ribbon with the raw edges of the Minky blanket fabric - so right sides are touching. Pin Ribbons in place, nicely spaced along two edges of the blankie.

I did opposing edges, so that it leaves the middle & two sides of the little blankie, nice & snuggly. You can embellish any combination of two edges or even all four sides with the ribbon tags, as you prefer.



4. Attach ribbons to one side of the blanket with a single seam, removing pins along the way. Attach ribbons on the second side of the blanket with another single seam.



5. Cut away excess ribbon overhang, if necessary.



6. Fold your ribbons to the right side of the fabric on both ends. Sandwich the ribbons between both pieces of Minky fabric. Pin in place around all four blanket sides. Your blanket will be inside out, at this point. Run a seam around the perimeter, leaving a three inch gap un-sewn. Using the gap, turn your blanket right side out.



7. After turning the blanket right side out, push out the corners. Fold the edges of the opening over to close up the gap, & pin closed. Run a final seam around the entire blanket perimeter, careful to align both sides of the fabric correctly. This seam is decorative in nature and will keep the two sides laying nicely - as they may go wonky when washed if left unsewn.



8. Your baby is probably napping during your little blankie making session, right? Lay it aside and wait for notice that the nap has ended.



9. Naptime over?? Let the wee one commence with twiddling the tags and snuggling with his new blankie.



10. Commence with picture taking of your adorable creation{s}. Well done, Mama.