Pillow-Blanket ("Planket") Sewing Tutorial (Swell Noel Idea #1) - Positively Splendid {Crafts, Sewing, Recipes and Home Decor} (2024)

Today marks the first installment of A Swell Noel here at Positively Splendid.

Hooray for kicking off the holiday crafting season!!

Can I just say I am so excited to kick off this extravaganza with a super fun, super functional gift idea from the immensely talented Kim from A Girl and a Glue Gun? Take it away, Kim!

***

Hi. i’m kim from a
girl and a glue gun (and ironically, i’m not using my glue gun at

all today.)

I’m SO excited to be here on P.S.!

I’m a huge fan of amy’s and so excited for her and her growing family!

Christmas gift making…

i love Christmas.

love.

hate shopping.

hate.

i always dread that (insert person) won’t like the present i get

or worse, already has one.

so i choose to go the homemade route.

introducing…..

It’s a pillow….

it’s a blanket..

it’s
a planket….?

okay. so it’s a working title.

but whatever it is called…

it’s awesome.

and usable.

and a great gift for the traveler…

or the napper…

or the picnicer.

or the football fan…

and I loved the excuse to go to joanns and buy some fleece….

i narrowed it down to like 10

but ultimately i choose this one…

(cause i thought it matched amy’s

blog design nicely!)

I bought a yard and a half of the print..and half a yard of the green

(but realistically you could buy a pre-made blanket and just add the

pocket!

trimmed the edges to make it all even and nice..

then i had to break out the math.

i used to be very good at math.

then i had kids.

fried the brain or something.

but it’s not too difficult. I drew a picture cause I’m a visual

person….

basically..to get the measurements of the pillow piece..you need

to find out how big your blanket is…then divide it. the top piece

will have to be divided by odds (3 or 5). but the side pieces can be

whatever you fancy. (so if you have a HUGE blanket you could do 3

across the top…and 6 going down.

if your blanket is big…and you do only 4…than your pillow is going

to be pretty big. (so keep all this in mind. )

The measurements of my pillow is 14 x 18…so i added an inch for a

seam and cut 15×19

and cause i feel the need to add crap to everything..

i decided to sew on some flowers to decorate the pillow.

made a template

cut them out..and sewed them on

Now…if you are only using one piece of fabric than you need to pick

something that will be okay from both sides (like you can’t do a

letter k. cause it will be backwards on the blanket or pillow

side)

but you could just add another piece of fabric and then the

problemwon’t be a problem.

I put the flowers face down on the blanket…(so the pillow will have

the pop outs)

okay..so just like my drawing…the pillow goes at the top (or bottom)

in the middle (centered)(onthe back if you have a back to

your blanket)

pocket to stick our blanket in

lucky for me, i’m using fleece. which means i don’t have to finish any

seams…but if you are using a fabric that frays you will need to

finish these edges before sewing it on…

okay.. sew it on!

you could get all fancy and bind it but i like the

this would be great to take to a ballgame

keep you warm if you need..

or keep your bum from going numb on the hard bleachers

(you could even get all fancy and make it in your team colors!)

i think i will keep this one in my car. great for picnics,

for long car rides when your kid is falling asleep against the cold window

or for ANYTIME you kid complains cause they are freezing…(even when

it’s like 75 degrees outside.)

i think i might just add a pocket to all my blankets. makes them so

handy to have!

thanks for having me amy!

and please feel free to stop by and hang out at my blog

we just finished a week full of hair
crap

and you can go HERE to

see my other stuff

***

I totally love this idea, and I have to say Kim is a true gem for choosing a color scheme to match my blog! 🙂 What a marvelous gift idea that would be perfect for so many different folks in your life!

There are many more great ideas in store for week one of A Swell Noel, so be sure to stop back in for a daily dose of holiday goodness!

EVEN MORE GREAT IDEAS JUST FOR YOU!