Taggie Blankets for Baby Tutorial
I love making things for babies and soon to be moms. Everything is always sweet, soft and truly appreciated. One of my favorite baby gifts, Taggies, also happens to be easy to make and incredibly popular with both the baby and the mom! I just finished up two Taggies for a set of twins due this summer. Here is how to make one for your next baby shower!
Supplies
1 – 18″ square of Cuddle™ Fabric
1 – 18″ square of flannel fabric
approx. 32 ribbons and/or trims cut in 4″ lengths (pick a variety of textures, colors and widths)
Sulky® 40 wt. Rayon Thread (for embroidery)
Sulky Prewound Bobbins
Sulky Soft ‘n Sheer™
Sulky Poly Deco™ Thread
Clover® Wonder Clips™
Taggies are great, easy, baby gifts. Start by picking 2 fabrics and cut one (1) 18″ square from each fabric. I chose white Cuddle fabric and striped flannel because I am making these Taggies for twin boys that will be born to a beautiful southern mama who has a simple yet elegant style about her.
I knew she would want these new boys to have their monograms on their Taggies so I chose coordinating Sulky 40 wt. Rayon Thread and Sulky Prewound Bobbins in white (Have I mentioned how much I hate winding bobbins? Thank you Sulky for giving us prewound bobbins!). I wanted the monogram to be in the very center of the Taggie so I took the flannel fabric and folded into quarters and ironed it.
This gave me some nice lines to use to line up the fabric in the hoop. I used Sulky Soft ‘n Sheer Stabilizer and hooped both the stabilizer and the flannel into the hoop. Because I am using a stripe, I had to be careful and really make sure I lined it up nicely. No one wants a monogram that goes downhill!
Because I couldn’t remember when I had changed my needle last in my embroidery machine, I went ahead and changed the needle. After stitching out the monogram, trimming up the stabilizer, clipping the jump stitches, and ironing the piece flat, I laid it on my table and began to clip my ribbons into place. Take your 4″ ribbons and fold them in half and clip each one in place, facing in, around all 4 sides of the square. A couple tips about the ribbons. Do not use pieces longer than 4″. If the loop is bigger than that, the baby could get their little hand in and get stuck. You also don’t want to put ribbons too close to the corners or you may sew them down when you are sewing the 2 pieces together.
I like to have a variety of colors, textures and widths to my ribbons to give the baby lots of interesting things to touch, see and taste. Yes, they will put this in their mouth, so be sure whatever ribbons you use, they can handle some wear and tear. Grosgrain, webbing, and satin ribbons work great. Once you have clipped all the ribbons into place facing in, baste them down. I used Sulky Poly Deco in white to for this. As I have mentioned, I expect this Taggie to get lots of use and I know the Poly Deco can stand up to lots of washing, pulling and sunshine.
After basting them, add the Cuddle fabric, right sides together, and clip into place.
Use lots of clips since Cuddle tends to stretch. I don’t usually have trouble with Cuddle when I am sewing on the wrong side, but if you do, take a piece of Sulky Tear-Easy™ and put that between the fabric and your machine bed. That way you have something for the feed dogs to grab onto. (For more tips on sewing with Cuddle, go here.) You can also use your walking foot (or even-feed foot) to help all the layers sew together evenly. Sew around all four sides, leaving a small opening for turning. Be sure you are sewing inside the basting line and not catching the ribbons when you are nearing the corners.
After turning the piece, use several clip to close the opening with the raw edges tucked in and topstitch around the entire Taggie.
Tada! you are done and these babies have perfect little travel blankets that will also provide some great entertainment. Have you made a Taggie before? Do you have any tips to share? If so, put them in the comments below.
Happy Sewing!
