Faux Chenille Blanket

For a while, faux chenille blankets were my go-to gift for a baby shower. They’re just fun to look at, soft to hold, and the person really appreciates the thoughtful, hand-made gift.
Layers of cotton fabrics are sewn into rows and rows of diagonal lines and then cut and washed to create a faux chenille look. It’s a time-consuming project but really cool to see the finished results:
These blankets are great for snuggling and also work as a play mat, while baby rolls around with toys. Of course you can definitely make a bigger one as a throw blanket for the couch or a bed.
I first shared Lucy’s baby blanket with you, that I sewed 4 years ago. It has a soft corduroy backing, four layers of cotton fabrics for the chenille, and a furry binding:And though I didn’t have a baby in mind when making this new blanket, I went for a rainbow of colors and love the happy, cheery vibe.
I must point out that like most quilting, this blanket takes a while to make. It’s not as time-consuming as true quilting. But be prepared for tedious hours of sewing line after line after line and cutting, cutting, cutting. I don’t want to make it sound boring. It really is a fun project (and so cool when you see the final product washed and chenilled up). But just be prepared for the commitment and think of this cuteness laying on top of it. Totally worth it.
Ready to jump in??
I’ll even show you what to do if you get a hole in your blanket when cutting….
Okay, let’s get started!

Amount of fabric needed:
You need 4-5 different fabrics for this blanket. One fabric is going to be the “back” and the other 3 or 4 fabrics will make the fuzzy “front”. I say 4-5 fabrics because you can use 3 OR 4 on the front side, it doesn’t matter. I’ve made blankets with both and they both turned out great. It’s simply a preference of how many colors you want to show up on the chenille side.
You need appx 1 yard to 1/1 4 yards of each fabric. If you want a perfectly square blanket, do 1 1/4 yards of each fabric (which makes a 45 x 45 square). If you’re going with fabric in your stash and only have 1 yard of your favorite fabric, just use 1 yard and you’ll have a cute rectangle. Again, I’ve done both sizes and you’ll be happy either way. For the blanket in this tutorial, I used 1 1/8 yards of each. No rhyme or reason, just what I was feeling that day.

Also note: the fabrics will shift a bit as you’re sewing, so you’ll end up losing a few inches all the way around once you trim the finished edges.

Types of fabric:
For the back fabric you can use any sort of cotton, flannel, corduroy, or other soft fabric. Cotton weight or heavier works best. Avoid fabrics with stretch.

For the chenille fabrics, you need woven fabrics that will fray easily at the edges; the fraying is what creates the faux chenille look. The best fabrics to use are:
* 100% Cotton
* Linen (or linen/cotton blend)
* Flannel (which is typically 100% cotton)
Aesthetic Nest also has a great tutorial for these blankets, using flannel instead of cotton. Check out her beautiful pictures and info HERE.

Most importantly, you want to stay away from polyester and other synthetic fabrics since they tend not to fray, especially when cut on the bias, which is what you’ll be doing here. You may be tempted to get a poly/cotton blend for some of your chenille layers, but don’t do it! You’ll be disappointed.
I used 100% cotton for all the fabrics in this tutorial.

Price of Fabrics:
Your back layer is the one that will really show, so if you’re going to pay for a cool printed fabric, spend your money there. For the other layers, only bits of each fabric will show, so don’t worry about pricey prints (I spend $2-$3/yard on these fabrics). Choose fabrics with color shades you’d like to see on the chenille side, since all you’ll really notice is the color and not the detailed print of these fabrics. I like to use my darkest color on the bottom of the chenille layers because it looks nice when you cut the layers. If you choose a printed fabric, look for those with small-scale patterns (mini dots, flowers, calico prints, etc)

Here’s my stack of fabrics, all purchased at Joann Fabrics:
The colorful print is for the back; the four 100% cotton solids are for the faux chenille front.
Note: I did not pre-wash/dry my fabrics since they will be washed a few times when finished sewing and it will be fine if they shrink up together. But if your good sewing practices are eating away at you on this, go ahead and wash/dry before getting started.

Okay, let’s layer the fabrics. Lay the “back” fabric face down and then lay the bottom of the chenille fabrics on top of that. My solid colored fabrics don’t have a wrong or a right side, but if your fabric does, I usually lay the bottom layer of chenille face down, just like the Back fabric because it will curl up and show the colored/printed edges a bit better (this will make more sense later when you wash the blanket). Then, I lay the other chenille layers face up.
I’m working outside on our driveway here because I’m using a temporary spray adhesive to hold the fabrics together and no matter how careful I am, some of the spray gets on the ground and on my fingers. So definitely work outside. This step is optional, but it helps keep the fabrics from extreme shifting while you sew.

So, use a temporary craft adhesive, such as Craft Bond to hold the layers together. This will wash out later.
With your first two fabrics on top of each other, pull back some of the pink fabric and spray the Back fabric with Craft Bond. Then fold the pink back over and smooth it out with your hands. Try to make it as smooth as possible, with each fabric layer you add. But don’t stress over it; there may be slight bubbles or folds here or there.
Pull back the other side of the pink fabric, spray the Back fabric and lay the pink fabric back on top, smoothing it out. It’s easiest to do half of each fabric at a time, rather than trying to spray and lay the entire piece of fabric at once and smoothing it out.
Continue layering, spraying, and smoothing out the other fabrics,
until you have them all layered, in one heavy stack:
To keep the fabric from shifting even more while sewing, I pin the layers together in various spots throughout with safety pins:
Okay, to make the chenille side, you’re going to sew diagonal lines, appx 1/2 inch apart from each other across the entire back of the blanket.

You want to mark the center diagonal of your blanket and start sewing in the center first and then work your way out. If you start at one of the corners, it’s unlikely that your diagonal lines will evenly hit the center corners when you actually get there.
Use a piece of yarn or string and pull it from one corner to the other, to create a straight line. Use a fabric marker and ruler to draw the line all the way across. If you don’t have a fabric marker, you can use straight pins to create a line and then remove them one by one as you sew.
And now you’re ready to sew!
Pick appropriate thread colors for the Back and the chenille sides. They will both show up. I prefer a thread that blends with the fabrics, so it hides any mistakes or wonky lines.

You want to sew on the BACK fabric and not the chenille fabrics. This is important.
As you sew line after line after line, the fabrics will shift a bit. It’s almost impossible to avoid (even with the spray adhesive and safety pins). There are times that you will get small folds or bunching in the chenille side fabrics and this is okay. It won’t matter very much when you start cutting your chenille lines. So, it’s best to do the nicer sewing on the side that will show: the Back side.
Now, without even thinking about it I choose a fabric that has diagonal lines all the way across, which makes this sewing super easy. But, it makes it harder to show you the steps for this tutorial. So, I’m going to use a small swatch of fabrics here for the next few steps and go back to the colorful blanket later.

Here’s my new set of fabrics. The red is the back fabric and there are 3 chenille fabrics underneath:
I marked a diagonal line across the middle:
And sewed my first line right down the middle, all the way across that diagonal line:
Looks like this:
Then, start sewing parallel diagonal lines next to the first line. You can space them however far apart you want, as long as you’re consistent with each line. But I’ve found that 1/2 inch apart looks best and helps the chenille fabric fray and curl up the best. So, use your presser foot to guide you when sewing each line. I also had to shift the position of my needle over to get a full 1/2 inch from my presser foot edge. Use a ruler to measure if you’re not sure where a 1/2 inch is.
Continue sewing lines all the way across, to both corners and listen to good music to break up the monotony.
When you’re done sewing, it should look like this!
Small note: I don’t cut any of the strings off of each line when I’m done sewing. I just do it all at the end, so I don’t have to keep stopping and cutting.
Okay, back to my big other blanket here. This is what it looks like. Lots of pretty lines on white fabric:
Of course, the shifting fabric created some folds and bubbles, so don’t worry if yours does the same. It will work out in the end!
Time to CUT.
You can use a special chenille cutter for this (Aesthetic Nest shows one in her tutorial). I couldn’t find one at my local fabric shop and was antsy to get started, so I just used scissors.
Now, this step is not tricky, but you do need to be careful that you don’t poke through the Back side of the fabric.

Slip your scissors under the top chenille fabric layers (all 3 or 4 of them, whatever you used) and cut down the middle of each line. DO NOT cut the Back fabric layer.
It will look like this. Pretty fabric colors peeking out.
Continue cutting down the middle of each line. This is a good time turn on your favorite show or peppy music in the background.
When you get to a spot where the fabric is folded over, just cut over the folds and then trim any jagged edges.
And now time to expose my big problem area. I was sewing along, feeling confident about my blanket. And since there are diagonal lines printed on my fabric I thought, huh….I’ll just skip ahead and sew a diagonal line farther down and then fill in the gap with my lines. You know, playing sewing games with myself to break up the monotony of the lines. Well, dumb. When I filled in the gap with my diagonal lines, the fabric had shifted and totally bunched up in one spot where I sewed that rogue line. See that middle line down there that looks wonky? Dumb dumb dumb. Well, in the end, after washing/drying it actually looks okay, but it made the cutting process more difficult.
The layers on those two lines were super folded and bunched and I could hardly get my scissors through. Look at the horrible cutting job:
AND, I cut TWO HOLES in the back fabric. Ugh. But I came up with a easy fix solution! Here’s what you do…..
Cut a piece of fabric slightly larger than the hole. Make sure it’s fabric that matches the pattern where the hole is (of course I didn’t have any extra fabric, so I had to go back to Joanns for 1/8 of a yard. Might be wise to buy a bit extra the first time around if you foresee yourself as a hole cutter.)
Use a fusible webbing (such as Heat N Bond or Wonder Under) to attach the fabric to the blanket. I first tried simply folding the edges under and not using webbing but it was too bulky.

So, iron the webbing on to the back side of the fabric:
Peel off the paper and trim the excess fabric.
It’s going to fit real nice over that spot.
Lay it on top of the hole and iron it in place. Fusible webbing is like a small layer of plastic that actually fuses to both sides of the fabric and holds them together. It will not wash off and is usually used for applique work.
Finally, sew the piece in place. I cut the patch piece just as wide as the width of two diagonal lines on my blanket, so I could sew the edges down right over the lines I originally sewed. Do not sew horizontally across the bottom ends, or it will crush the chenille layers on the other side. The fusible webbing will keep the edges from fraying.
And the hole is fixed! You can’t even tell it was there (which is why I don’t have a photo to show you).

Okay, all the lines are cut and it’s time to even out the edges of your blanket.
There will be shifted edges of fabric hanging over on each side. So use a rotary cutter or scissors to trim the edges and make sure the sides are even.
What I find easiest is to use scissors to do a quick eye-ball trim, just to get the bulky stuff off.
Then I use my rotary cutter to fine-tune the edges and make them look really nice.
And here’s the trimmed blanket:
You can leave your corners square or make them rounded, as Aesthetic Nest did. I’m in love with her idea! So, use a plate or round object to mark curves around each corner and trim the edge.
Your blanket should look like this:
Phew. Still with me? We’re almost done! We just need to add the binding.

You have a few options here. You can make your own binding or bias tape, or purchase the pre-packaged stuff. For Lucy’s baby blanket, I made a wide 3 inch binding of faux fur fabric.
If you don’t want to make your own, you can buy various bindings at the store. Mostly they’re solid color and either satin or poly/cotton. I used two packages of 1 inch wide, double-fold, poly/cotton bias tape. I thought the teal would be a fun color contrast with the white:
With bias tape, one side is slightly wider than the other. You want to use the wider side on the underside of whatever you’re sewing, so you make sure you get an even sewing all the way around (so there aren’t any holes)
Sandwich the binding around the edge of the blanket and pin it in place.
Ease it around each curve:
And when you get to the end, overlap the binding a bit (it shouldn’t fray, since it’s a poly/cotton cut on the bias – fabrics fray less when cut on the bias)
And then sew the binding down, close to the edge.
You may get a few puckers in the corners which you can try to smooth out with your finger nail.
Okay, the big final payoff!!
Throw that blanket in the washing machine and dyer and when it comes out…..it should look like this:
Lines of curled up, soft chenille layers.
If the layers aren’t fraying up as nicely as you’d like, try washing/drying it a few more times. Of course, the fraying really depends on the fabrics used. So always stick with 100% cotton, linen, or other wovens that fray easily.
And if you were delirious from cutting all those lines, you may have missed a line or two. Whoops:
Just pick off the binding in those two spots, cut all the way down the line, and sew the binding back on. And you’re done! Congratulations!
Enjoy your snuggly blanket! (sorry, cute baby not included)
Happy Sewing!

  1. 1) Tina

    I’m glad I read your post. I made a baby blanket like this using flannel. After reading your post I realize I can choose less-expensive fabrics and still get good results. My daughter thinks I should make a queen sized blanket like this for my son’s wedding this summer, instead of a standard quilt. Mulling this over right now, especially if I don’t have to find flannels! Thank you for sharing!

  2. Thanks for an awesome tutorial! I am working on one of these right now and I want to make sure I am putting my store-bought quilt binding on correctly. You said to put the wider side on the underside of whatever youā€™re sewing. I notice you sewed it from the “chenilled” side… does that mean you put the wider side on the front?? Or did you put it on the chenilled side? Thanks in advance for your help. šŸ™‚

    • 3) Dana

      Yea, I think the smaller side is sandwiched on the chenille side.
      I’m glad you tried out the blanket! It’s so fun to see the final results.

  3. 4) Liz

    Do you know approximately how much fabric I would need if I was going to buy fabric for the binding. I love your 3″ faux fur binding, but don’t have a clue of how much fabric to buy.

  4. 5) Kim Garcia

    I had to try this. My thumb is swollen and numb but I love the way it turned out. /Users/kimgarcia/Desktop/2012-02-11_07-57-45_367.jpg

  5. I found a link to this tutorial the other day when someone shared a blanket they had made and fell in love with it instantly. We’re expecting a 2nd boy soon and I really wanted an idea for matching blankets for the 2 kiddos. I think something like this would be awesome. I love your blog btw!

    I also shared this in a collection of my favorite baby tutorials. šŸ™‚
    http://thelittlewaffleflower.blogspot.com/2012/02/baby-on-brain-and-bladder.html

  6. Hi. I’m so glad I followed through, I have always wanted to make this and I am now ready for the challenge!

  7. 8) Katelyn Hall

    I’m not even exaggerating when I say I have about 8 friends/family that are about to pop out babies, and this is the PERFECT gift to make!! I wanted to do something special for each of them and will definitely be using this in the near future! Thanks for sharing!! šŸ™‚

  8. 9) Nancy

    I love this blanket. If I wanted to make it larger, how would I do it since the fabric is only 45 inches wide? I would be afraid that seaming the flannels would cause it to be bulky and how would it work when I cut the back fabrics? TIA

  9. 10) Keri

    I love your blanket!! So pretty!
    I have made several of these blankets and I love them!! A quick hint on cutting the”chenille” layers… Use those free letter openers that are handed out by businesses and at fairs and such. They have a sharp point that you can put under the layers you want to cut and the blade is encased in the plastic so that only the fabric you want to cut is what gets cut. Very easy AND easy on the hands!! When the blade gets dull, you just throw it away and use a new one! They look like these http://www.4imprint.com/tag/584/Letter-Openers/product/2535-S/Letter-Opener-Opaque

  10. 11) Liz

    Quick question. I am going to do a wide 3″ binding like you did on your daughters. Did you sew both sides of the binding on at the same time? And then did you sew anything more between the edge of the blanket and where you sewed the binding on?

  11. i am in some serious love with this blanket and just wanted to tell you how much i appreciate your time in putting together this tutorial! because of it, i have made several blankets!

    the last one that i just finished i used cotton for the chenille part, but on the other side, i used minky fabric! i wasn’t sure if it would work out, but wanted to try! Now it is double sided in softness! i love it!

    if you get a second, i would love for you to check it out:
    http://roselandfamily.blogspot.com/2012/03/faux-chenille-minky-blanket.html

    i of course linked several times to your blog and tutorial specifically!

    thanks again for making this so easy!

  12. 13) Janice

    Thought I would share a helpful hint that my mom used when she made quilts (and she made a good many) … she would do as you did with the adhesive spray and the pinning, but she would start on the middle line in the middle of the quilt and work out all to one side then turn and start in the middle and again work out. She said this was a bit more time consuming till you get use to it but it helped to keep from having layers of fabric bunch up. Just a thought. Oh and I love your idea. My mom did this to make applique designs on sweatshirts. Happy Sewing!

  13. Great tute Passed it on to a couple of new momma’s.

  14. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS TUTORIAL!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE MADE SOOO MANY RAG QUILTS THAT I DON’T WANT TO MAKE ANY MORE OF THEM , BUT THIS, THIS IS GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR A NEW WAY OF MAKING A GORGIOUS BLANKET AND WHAT A GREAT MOTHER’S DAY GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO GET STARTED THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!!!!!!!!!!

  15. 16) Patty R

    I am eager to get started on this great blanket idea!!! Do you know if using a walking foot will help to prevent the possible bunching?
    Thanks for sharing this idea!

  16. 17) Kathy

    So glad you posted this tutorial. I’ve made several faux chenille blankets. But I’ve always used flannel on the back. I’m glad to know I can just used regular cotton.

    Thanks for sharing your pictures. Love the pretty colors.

    Kathy

  17. 18) Becca

    Thank you for your blog Dana, I just love it and as a new sewer I’m finding lots of fun things to try. I just finished making one of these blankets – I used all cotton to make it lightweight for a summer baby. Picture here: http://tinyurl.com/7fv9yzp

    One thing that happened accidentally that made it SO much easier for my first time doing this project – I randomly picked polka-dot fabric where the dots were about a half-inch wide. So, I didn’t have to mark each line to sew, I only had to find the middle for the first line and then for each one after, sew down the space in-between the dots. This saved a lot of time in the pre-sewing phase. My son has informed me that I need to make another of these blankets for him, but this time with Spider-Man fabric, so I won’t get off so easy next time! šŸ™‚

  18. 19) Anna

    I made a small one tonight! I bought a tool specially designed for cutting the layers it’s called the slash cutter! Worked awesome no holes and was really fast! Thanks for tutorial

  19. 20) Connie

    I am so excited to give this a try today, and as I was reading over your instructions again, I am wondering if you use a walking foot when you are sewing the lines if that would help with the “puckering”. I am going to give it a try. And thank you so much for sharing your talents with others.

  20. Hello-
    I did a “test” run and made a smaller blanket, but maybe it was the fabric I used….when i washed and dried it I had strings knotted up all over the place. So now I got a cotton for the front and 3 layers of flannel for the back…..I just got done cutting it and I’m getting strings again – will these all come out in the wash/dryer?? or is there a trick or something to having it come out cleaner??

    I need advice – Thank you so much – so far the blanket looks so cute I’m just worried about the stringy mess i had with my test blanket!!! yikes!

    Angie

    • 22) Dana

      hmmm.
      strange.
      Did you cut the strips on the bias/diagonal?
      The only thing I can think of, is if you cut the strips straight up and down (parallel to the selvage), they have more tendency to fray.

  21. This is such a great tutorial! Though a little time consuming, the end result is worth it. Thanks for sharing Dana. Will definitely try it out šŸ™‚

  22. 25) Brea

    Whew! It is so refreshing to see that some of the wonderful, talented people behind these tutorials (which I love and stalk) are totally real and mess up sometimes too! I am working on one of these fabulous blankets right now for my brand new neice and I had no idea, no clue at all, that I could not sew a straight line! After all these years of pretending to sew… who knew! LOL! I love your blog, thank you for the tutorial and for keeping it real!

  23. Dana, great tutorial. I am actually making this right now, and I have to say, that glue spraying was quite a pain! (And now it’s all over me!) But I’m sure it will be worth it.
    A tip – My top fabric is mostly black, so I won’t be able to see a fabric marker over the center line. So instead of pinning, which is another pain, I used a strip of painter’s tape that I have. I put it about 1/8 inch to the right of the center and I’m going to sew next to it. I hope that idea helps someone!
    Thanks again Dana!!

  24. 27) Brea

    FYI… mine turned out fantastic and I used two recycled receiving blankets and one piece of new flannel. It looks so awesome… I want to keep it šŸ™‚ Thanks so much Dana.

  25. I finally had the chance to try this out for myself! Your tutorial is fantastic, Dana! Thank you for taking the time to put it together! I adore the way it turned out. I almost don’t want to give it away! Ha ha! Guess I’ll just have to make another one!

    How did you sew 1/2 inch rows on BOTH sides of the blanket? I was able to move my needle over to the left when I was sewing from the center to the left side of the blanket. The edge of my presser foot was the perfect guide to get a 1/2 row. But I was stumped when it was time to sew on the right side of the center line since my needle can’t be positioned to the right and I didn’t want to sew the rest on the chenille side. Does that make sense? I ended up positioning my needle back in the center and taped a small piece of cardstock to the left side of my presser foot. It allowed me to have something there as a guide to keep my lines as straight as possible. Maybe I just need a wider foot? What did you use? Just curious. Thanks!

    • 29) Ingrid

      You start at the centertip and sew your lines next to each other to the right. Then you turn your blanket so your first sewn line is again at the left of your presser foot and continue sewing lines down to the right…makes sense?

    • 31) Carmen

      One of the prettiest blankets I’ve seen!

  26. Ha ha! It just ocurred to me that all I had to do was turn the blanket around. I feel pretty silly. Disregard my question, Dana! šŸ™‚

  27. Formidable !!!! Magnifique !!!
    Merci pour le tuto !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  28. 35) Eileen Snee

    This looks great. Can’t wait to try out your tutorial. Thanks for all your great ideas.

  29. Would a walking foot help prevent some of the shifting? I’m excited to try this!

  30. 37) Ali B

    I’ve just made one of these out of heavier duty fabric as a rug for my son’s room. Love it!

  31. 38) Kirstin

    I read this tutorial and was just about to make one of these blankets when I found one at the thrift store for $2. That baby was in my cart so fast! I wouldn’t have known that it was hand made and so involved had I not read this tutorial. I still may make one myself, but right now my baby is enjoying one that someone else made. That is good karma in my opinion!

  32. 39) melissa

    i have a question, when you are sewing all the diagnol lines, are you back stitching the ends of every line before moving on the the next one, or does it not matter because you will be putting on the bias tape?

    • 40) Barbara

      I was told to make my stitches quite small, so that if (heaven forbid) the stitching breaks, it won’t unravel.

  33. 41) Stephanie

    Thank you so much for the tutorial! I just finished this blanket and it turned out wonderful!!!! My daughters love it so much! šŸ™‚

  34. 42) SMum

    I just finished making a blanket for my best friend’s baby using your tutorial. It turned out more beautiful than I even imagined. Thank-you!

  35. 43) Summer Frost

    Nice! So … any idea on how to make the chenille WITHOUT the “faux”? I have read bits and pieces about how this was started by Catherine Evans Whitener when she tried to replicate a vintage candlewick spread. Eventually, the process was mechanized for mass production, thus the plethora available on ebay and etsy. But I want to make the real deal.
    Thanks,
    Sum

  36. 44) judy

    I hope someone has a reply for my question. I have been wanting to make one of these slash quilts for so time a have decided this is the project I am taking on retreat this fall. My question is how do you make it full size (double bed size). Would you cut squares like you do foor rag quilting? I just don’t see how you could layer that many fabrics. Will be anxiously awaitig suggestions and ideas.

    • 45) Carissa

      Judy, I’m also going to be making this full size. I’m going to use my main designer fabric flanked by a solid panel of fabric on each side to make it wider. Was thinking of using a French seam when I sew it. I’ll probably have to do the flannel fabrics the same (if I can’t find wide width) but since they’re cut on the diagonal I might be able to get away without doing French seams. I’ll post a link as soon as I make mine. My sewing room is under construction at the moment.

  37. 46) Vanessa Edwards

    Please help!!!
    I am a wanna-be/newbie sewer. I’ve just bought my first machine and before this, I have never even seen/touched a machine in real life. I want to make burp cloths and found your site via another tutorial… But I am LOST when it comes to fabric. So three hours later, I’m going to plead for your help! I want to use the nice off-white looking “chenille” fabric for the burp cloths. I have searched and searched online and Joann’s and I can’t find it. Please help! I want the already made fluffy fabric! Please help!

  38. 47) Brenda

    Love the blanket! Enjoyed your pictures and especially the sweet baby!

  39. 48) Emily

    So glad you showed your “oops” and how to fix them! I would be the crazy person that starts all over bc I cut a hole in the front fabric!

    • 49) Dana

      good good! glad you’ll be able to fix it šŸ™‚

  40. 50) Pat

    I just made this great chenille blanket but I have a problem, not sure what happened. My block is skewed off center after my diagonal stitching was done. The materials were all squared and folded even when I started; now when I fold it the corners are skewed off center. I thought it would square up after I cut the channels but it didn’t. My backing has a definite design so I can’t just cut it square. What happened? Other than this, the blanket looks great. I want to make another but I need to know if it was possibly something I did.

  41. 51) olga

    Well illustrated. You showed us the easy way how. Thank you much. You really want us to learn how to make it.

  42. 52) Jessica

    Thank you so much for posting about this! I’ve been searching for years for the instructions for this type of baby quilt but I had no idea what it was called. Google surprised me this morning with your page and I’m so ecstatic. I’m going to make one of these this weekend hopefully!

  43. 53) Mark

    Thank you for your great tutorial! I’m making one of these for my mother who is living with Alzheimer’s. The texture and softness will be for her like getting a soft hug from me every day. She will love the chenille texture to figit with as well. I was worried about the finishing of it, but your tutorial calmed my fears! Thank you!

  44. 54) Linda Soule

    Thank you so much for such a nice tutorial!!! This comment is only for people who FIND THAT WHILE MAKING THE CHENILLE QUILT, THE SHIFTING FABRIC AND FOLDS IN DIAGONAL SEWING LINES ANNOYS THEM!
    I do piece quilting and I think there are probably some steps that would be applicable to the chenille quilt — steps that you could take to eliminate the fabric shifting and folds in diagonal sewing lines.
    1. I start by putting the finished pieced quilt top right side down (on a table),
    2. I then place the quilt batting on top of the wrong side of the pieced top
    3. Next, I place the quilt backing (right side out) on top of the batting .
    *** (This would be the point where you would have all 5 of the fabric layers stacked for the chenille quilt)
    4. Then as if the quilt layers are one piece of fabric, I work my way around the quilt, firmly pulling the quilt layers and taping them to the table (I use masking tape), making sure that the quilt layers are not pulled out of “square”.
    5. With the tape holding the quilt layers in place and starting in the middle of the quilt I smooth a 6 inch section of the fabric and use quilting safety pins to randomly (every 2-3 inches) pin through the 3 quilt layers. Smooth and pin until the quilt is fully pinned.
    6. Remove the tape and sew diagonally as indicated above (stopping to remove safety pins as you sew).
    IMPORTANT: Using a “walking foot” on your sewing machine will increase ease in sewing diagonals and assist in eliminating shifting fabric and resulting folds in diagonal sewing lines.

  45. 55) Dorothy Holzkopf

    I ha e made six of the chenille blankets. I use five fabrics and cut two layers on each side. So it is chenille on both sides.

  46. 56) Patrice

    Hi! I did not take the time to read through the other comments but what I am wondering is if you can seam 44″-45″ fabric together to make a blanket wider prior to starting the process? I am not sure if the stitching will be affected when running the chenille cutter through. I would appreciate your input. Thank you in advance!

  47. 57) Brandie

    I am in the process of making this beautiful blanket, I sure wish I would have read through this one more time before sewing for some reason I thought the sewing lines were to be 5/8th of an inch apart am in the cutting between the lines at this point. I hope it turns out ok. My next one will be so much easier. Thank you so much Its very fun to make

  48. 58) Beatrice

    This is my favorite one of you’re tutorials I already made it twice but I guess that actually doesn’t seem like a lot but seriously I read this post like a thousand times and this tutorial is seriously my favorite of all the tutorials I have read so far on your blog

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