Categories: LIFESTYLE

Football Baby Blanket

Supplies:
Brown fur or other fabric
Flannel, or other lining fabric
Sewing machine
White ribbon or felt

Expecting a baby during football season? Taking your little one with you to a game? Either way, what other blanket would you wrap the baby in than a football blanket? You can be average at sewing and still make a warm, adorable blanket, perfect for a football lover’s baby. Hurry up and go pick out the fabric that you like and your baby will be snuggling and warm, while you enjoy your beloved football.

Brown fur, flannel, fake mink, or similar cloth, is a wonderful choice for the outer fabric on the football blanket. Choose something with a color close to that of a football, of course. The exact amount you will need could vary from a yard to two yards, depending on the size that you want for the blanket. In addition to the outer fabric, you’ll need a lining fabric, like flannel. The two pieces of fabric, when sewn together, will ensure that the baby stays nice and warm.

Since babies differ in size, and you’re the one who knows how small or large you want the blanket to be, use your baby as the measuring stick. Lay the brown cloth out on a table and set it so that the wrong side is facing up. Make an obvious fold down the length of the cloth (and open the cloth back up) or use chalk to draw a line down the middle. Lay the baby across the width of the fabric and mark an area at the top-of-the-head area, and the bottom-of-the-feet area, or slightly below. That will be the width of the football.

Turn the baby around so that he or she is stretched out down the length of the cloth. Make a dot, on the chalk line or fold, a few inches above the head. Make another, a few inches below the feet, on the center line. Let baby go rest while you draw a slightly curved line from one side of the ball, up to the dot on the center line, and back to the other side of the ball. Do that again, but this time, draw the line from side, to bottom, to side. That will give you the basic shape of the football. Cut it out and use it as a pattern for the lining fabric.

Use wide, white ribbon or felt strips to make the stitching on the ball. On the right side of the cloth, go up a few inches from the point, and sew a strip of the ribbon across the end; do that to both ends. Cut a long strip of ribbon, sew it down the center of the ball. Cut smaller strips, cross-section them with the long strip, and sew them in place.

Lay the lining fabric on the brown fabric so that their right sides are facing. Sew almost all the way around the ball but leave an opening on one side. Turn the cloth right-side-out and sew the opening shut. Take a stitch, here and there, so that you tack the inner and outer fabric together. Wrap the baby up and it’s off to the game!