DIY Simple Swaddle Blanket

DIY Simple Swaddle
Sara and Melissa from alice & lois design studios are here today to share their adorable swaddle blanket tutorial. First, before we go any further, can we just talk about how gosh darn cute this little baby is? I can’t even handle it. There’s also another cutie modeling a swaddle after the jump.  Alright, back to the tutorial…

You may remember our first DIY Swaddle Blanket with Pattern and then the New and Improved Swaddle Blanket. This version Sara and Melissa are sharing today requires very minimal sewing and is made out of cotton gauze. If you’re racing to come up with a last minute baby gift, this could definitely be it. For more crafts and handmade gifts check out the Alice & Lois Etsy Store, as well as the DIY Projects on their site. They have great Easter crafts, like the bunny bowls.

Let’s get started on the DIY Simple Swaddle Blanket tutorial after the jump…

DIY Simple Swaddle Blanket

We have loved using the muslin baby swaddle blankets for the girls. They are stretchy and breathable as swaddles and so versatile. They are actually made from gauze fabric, not muslin. There are so many cute swaddle blankets on the market now – but I wanted to try and make some myself for a fraction of the cost. I went to my local San Francisco fabric warehouse and found some fabulous solid color gauze. I was aiming to add some details and design to the solid fabric, so I used a bleach pen to create my own unique patterns.

DIY Simple Swaddle

Supplies: 100% cotton gauze fabric (about 1 1/4 yards per blanket), Clorox Bleach Pen, white vinegar, water, freezer paper, tape, sewing machine, scissors

Instructions:

DIY Simple Swaddle

1. Cut the fabric to 44 in by 44 in. You want to have a square of fabric for a swaddle blanket. Wash and iron the fabric.

2. Prep fabric for a finished hem. The gauze I purchased had a nice finished selvage edge so I only had to hem the top and bottom. Press and fold over the edge twice to set your hem. I only pinned a quarter way across as it was just as easy to feed it through the sewing machine.

3. Sew the hem on the unfinished edges.

4. Lay out sheets of freezer paper on kitchen floor. Tape down the fabric on top of the freezer paper.

DIY Simple Swaddle

5. Bleach pen drawing tips:

– Practice your design – I drew leaves, arrows and a henna tattoo inspired design.

– Using bleach pen, draw your design directly onto the fabric. You do not need a thick amount of bleach gel – a little goes a long way. Try not to get bubbles in the bleach design.

– You want to do it quickly as the bleach starts working immediately. Since you are working with thin fabric, leave the bleach on the fabric for no more than 10 minutes. I recommend having a good amount of space in your design.

– You are working with bleach – wear old clothes and rubber gloves, have good ventilation and make sure your kids are not helping you with this project.

DIY Simple Swaddle

7. Rinse the blanket under cold water. Be careful not to ball the fabric up in the sink as the bleach can leave marks all over the blanket (when I make more, I will hose the bleach pen designs off the fabric outside).

8. After bleach has washed off, soak the blanket in a mixture of white vinegar and water to neutralize the bleach. I used 1 part vinegar to 5 parts water. I let the blanket sit in this mixture for 15 minutes. I then washed the blankets many times to get rid of the bleach smell!

DIY Simple Swaddle

We hope you enjoy making these blankets as much as we did. They make such a unique and creative baby shower gift! Check out some of our other baby DIYs: DIY iron-on onsie // DIY baby bibs // DIY painted wood block nursery art

All photos by Sara Albers for alice & lois design studios. All rights reserved.

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8 Comments

Mariel W

Wow I love it! I tried to make some for my baby but have had a terrible time finding the right fabric!

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Tutorial: Simple gauze swaddle blanket | Sewing | CraftGossip.com

[…] Sara and Melissa from alice & lois design studios guest blog at Pretty Prudent today with a tutorial showing how to make a gauze swaddle blanket.  Gauze makes awesome swaddle blankets because they’re stretchy and breathable.  The blankets are easy to make, using just a simple hem on a square of fabric.  If you use a solid bright gauze, you can take it one step further, like they did, and use a bleach pen to add fun designs.  Get their tutorial at Pretty Prudent. […]

Reply
sharon B

Oh these are lovely. Nice change from baby prints and babies do like bright colors. The only concern I would have is that the gauze needs to be wrapped lightly because it could be wrapped too tightly. It does have some stretch, but not as much as stretch fabric. So I would wrap less tightly than I would with a knit fabric.

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Alison

Where is the store you got the fabric from? I live near SF and I love the bright colors, so beautiful!

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