Kate Spain Central Park Minky Blanket

The okay has been given by mama Stephanie.  I can now officially talk about my grand baby that will be arriving in February!  Words cannot express the joy!  Aaron and Stephanie will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of their baby boy.  I hope the end of February gets here quickly.  Hopefully with the Holiday season approaching, the time will go by really fast.  But, I have lots of sewing to do.  Lots of quilts, baby blankets, burp cloths and changing pads to make.  Last month I started purchasing some new fabrics and this weekend I got started on a quilt and got this minky blanket completed.  I used a print out of Kate Spain's, Central Park collection and some thick charcoal minky dot.

I love this animal print with all the pretty colors.  I purchased the minky off Etsy from Sew Much Fun Fabric.  She provided lickety split service and an excellent product.  This line of minky is thicker than what is offered at Joann's and the dots are raised higher too.  It's very plush and extra soft.

Prep the cotton print fabric by pre-washing it and then ironing it with starch to make it easier to work with....

Through trial and error and learning new techniques through other bloggers and YouTube I have discovered the wonders of spray adhesive.  It' is now the only way I will work with large pieces of minky.  It does have a major drawback though.  It is messy and cleanup is a challenge, but the advantages out weigh the cleanup.  I love how the minky stays in place and does not bunch up.

Spread out the minky, right side up, on a flat surface and spray liberally with the spray adhesive.   Next, lay the cotton print face down on top of the minky.  The minky will be sticky, so try to get the cotton print as flat as possible before laying it down.  Using the starch spray greatly helps with this step.  Smooth the cotton print by starting in the middle and working your way to the sides.

When you get it completely smooth, straight pin the edges with 1 to 1.5 inch increments all the way around....

Stitch the two pieces together with a 1/4 inch margin.  Use of the spray adhesive makes this step go very quickly with no bunching up under the needle.  Leave an approximate opening of 5 inches for turning.

Trim off the excess fabric.....

I like to leave a wide border where the opening is.  Turn the blanket to the right sides.  You will find the adhesive spray is still holding the two fabrics together so you will need to spread them apart with your fingers and make sure you keep opening up the two pieces of fabric all the way to the sides and corners.

Smooth the blanket and pin again.  I trim off the wide minky end after I get the blanket turned.  I also like to point the straight pins in a different direction where the opening is so when I am stitching the blanket closed, I will know where I am at. 

I top stitched around all sides at approximately 1/4 inch.  The spray adhesive on the minky is going to stick to the plate of the sewing machine.  You will have to pull and push the fabric through some but it's not a big worry.
And here is what you get........a super soft, plush minky blanket with an adorable designer print fabric.....

I'm loving the colors.  It looks very little boy to me !  Remember to take time now to cleanup your work surfaces including the surface of the sewing machine around the needle to get the residue off left by the spray adhesive.

I'm looking forward to wrapping up the new baby in this blanket made by Grandma....me !

Scroll down to see who I have linked to this week.