Tag Blanket Tutorial

The inspiration for this came from...well, the desire for something for my son, but I REALLY didn't want to pay whatever ridiculous amount stores wanted for it. I have noticed that my son LOVES sucking on anything small, like ribbons, strings, etc. So, a tag blanket was in order! I think the whole thing (minus monogramming and additional embroidery, I'm kind of obsessed with my new sewing machine) took me about 30 minutes, give or take. I'm pretty happy with the results. Here we go!
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Tag Blanket Tutorial

Materials Needed:
2 19"X19" pieces of fabric (I used nursery flannels, so it's nice and soft)
72" of ribbon (I bought 2 spools so there would be variety). Ribbon should be at least 3/4" wide
Sewing machine
Coordinating Thread
Knitting Needle or turning tool
scissors
lighter
straight pins

Step 1: Cut your ribbon into 3" lengths.

Step 2: Using your lighter, lightly burn the cut edges of ribbon to melt them. This way the ends will not fray.

Step 3: Finger press your pieces of ribbon in half. Each piece should now be 1 1/2" long.

Step 4: Arrange your ribbons on the first 19"X19" piece of fabric. The fabric's right side should be up, and the raw edges of your ribbons should be even with the raw edges of the fabric. Pin ribbons in place.

Step 5: Place second piece of fabric on top, right sides together. Pin in place, making sure that you are pinning the ribbons. Leave a 4"-5" opening unpinned. (I took the pins holding each ribbon and re-pinned using those, that way you only have one set of pins to worry about.

Step 6: Sew around edges, leaving the 4"-5" opening unsewn so that you are able to turn the blanket right side out. Use a 1/2" seam allowance.

Step 7: Cut corners, making sure not to cut your seam.

Step 8: Turn. Use Knitting needle or turning tool to poke out corners.

Step 9: Pin the opening shut, making sure to pin through any ribbons that were not sewn on.

Step 10: Top stitch as close to edge as possible around entire blanket.

That's it, you're done! I chose to do some extra embellishments, like adding my son's name to one corner and adding a special embroidery stitch around the edges, but those are purely decorative and optional. Have fun!