WIP Wednesday: DIY Mermaid blanket

I had seen some adorable mermaid blankets on pinterest. They were mostly knitted or fleece ones. I'm not a huge fan of sewing with fleece and flannel for blankets. I usually use it as a lining because I really like working with cottons. I had the idea to make Amelia a pink tail blanket for daycare and couldn't decide on a shade so I decided to give in the the ombre craze and use all her favorite shades of pink!

You'll need:

1-2 meters of fabric depending on how long you want your tail to be.

1-2 meters of flannel to line the blanket

Sewing pen

coordinating thread

Sorry for the lack of pictures...


Step 1: I sewed together four strips of various shades going light to dark. For Amelia's blanket I used the following measurements:

Fabric 1:  8 inches (WOF)
Fabric 2:  10 inches (WOF)
Fabric 3:  14 inches (WOF)
Fabric 4:  18 inches (WOF)

Step 2: Fold the fabric in half widthwise and draw the desired shape. I found a tailfin template to use as a guide but ended up freehanding the tail design.

Step 3: Lay the cut out tail on the flannel and cut 2 pieces to line the blanket

Step 4: With right sides together sew the top of outer pierce 1 and lining piece 1 together. Turn right side out and iron the seam.

Step 5: Pin the fabric together and sew/serge around the edge.

Step 6: Repeat for second piece of fabric and lining.

Step 7: Using a sewing ink pen draw gill pattern on the blanket. I chose to only quilt one side. For the tail I replicated the lines that occur in a fishtail at the bottom of the fin. I used a thread that coordinated with the  darkest shade of pink. and quilted along the lines using a straight stitch.

Step 8: Place both pieces right side together. sew/serge down the sides. You may want to sew and zigzag along the bottom of the tail to get the right silhouette.  Use a straight stitch along the top edge to top stitch the opening of the blanket.

Step 9: Give to your little and let her slip into her new mermaid tail blanket! Washing the blanket gives the fabric a bit of a crinkled look and makes it even more "mermaidy" At least according to A2.

Linked up at Freshly Pieced!