Farmhouse Style Cuddly Blanket Tutorial

This chilly weather calls for a cuddly throw blanket!  It's easy to make one that keeps you warm this season and has a fun farmhouse flair to it.

The secret is using a rustic print cotton fabric panel for the front and a plush sherpa fabric for the back:

This blanket design uses a marshmallow-y soft sherpa fabric that wraps around to the front to add a fluffy border around the panel.  It's the perfect fabric to go with my sheep print fabric panel and really pop against its rustic reds.

In just an hour or so, you'll have a beautiful blanket to cuddle up with or to give as a gorgeous gift for the holidays:

It folds up nice to store too, although it's so comfy, I doubt ours will get put away any time soon!

As soon as I got this fabric panel for my shop I knew it would be just perfect to pair with a plush fabric and having it frame the panel design adds a luxurious feel:

~~ How To Make This Blanket ~~

Materials:
 - 1 yard size cotton fabric panel (I used The Lord Is My Shepherd Winter Sheep) or        1 yard of rustic design cotton print fabric (find more Christmas designs here)
 - 1 1/4 yds sherpa, velboa or cuddle fabric
 - Optional but recommended: walking foot
 - Yard stick, rotary cutter, lots of pins, hand sewing needle

Start by folding the panel in half and trimming the edges to be perfectly even using a yard stick (it should be 34 inches high by 42 inches wide).  Fold the sherpa/cuddle in half widthwise and cut to be 39 inches high inches by 48 inches wide.  This kind of fabric sheds quite a bit so have a vacuum ready after cutting.

Lay the cuddle face up and center the cotton panel face down, so that there's a 3.5 inch border between the raw edges on all sides.  It's also important to make sure the cuddle's nap faces downward so it lays smooth.

Carefully pin together the raw edges of the fabrics all the way around, leaving the corners loose.  The more pins the better, so the cuddle doesn't stretch out while sewing.  

It also helps to sew with the cuddle side on the bottom and using a walking foot to better keep the fabric from shifting or stretching.  Sew the layers together all the way around, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, skipping the corners and leaving a 3 inch gap at the bottom for turning.

Pull the open corners to a point and stitch a diagonal line to make nice mitered corners. Trim off the excess fabric.  Turn right side out and hand stitch the gap closed.

Put your new cuddly throw blanket out and stay warm!