Perfect Toddler Blanket Idea

on August 8, 2009 at 7:54 AM

Photo by aebaby

A mom in Toddler Moms was complaining that it's hard to find a good toddler size blanket for the crib. They are either too small (for babies) or too big (for big kids and adults).

A lot of moms use throws to cover their sleeping tots, but last weekend I came up with a great solution: I sewed four of my daughter's baby blankets together to make a bigger blanket.

These were the soft, cotton knit Carters blankets she had as a baby. They are the perfect weight for summer, and I often wished they'd come in a toddler size.

Eureka!

The result was functional rather than pretty, as the blankets were all different colors and patterns. But, now I get to wrap her up in memories. And for the price of a needle and a spool of thread, I saved a few bucks!

What blanket is your toddler using lately? Do you have trouble finding the perfect size for children who still sleep in cribs?

About the author Cynthia Dermody

is The Stir's Managing Editor who has trophies in her home for her skills at the Irish Jig. She makes cupcakes with as many fattening ingredients as possible, doesn't comb her hair for months at a time, and was probably a faerie in a former life.

Filed Under: bedtime, gear, sleep

Comments (8)

babyboomboom

on Aug 8, 2009 at 8:59 AM

I was just complaining about this to my mom on the phone the other day. I would love to do this however I can't sew to save my life so I just let him deal with no blanket. He rolls too much to keep it on anyway. But this is a neat idea.

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justanotherjen

on Aug 8, 2009 at 2:19 PM

My kids all had homemade quilts of fleece blankets. Fleece is the easiest. When they were around 1/2 yard of fleece cut and sewed some blanket edging around it. My 6yo still uses her. When they were 3 I bought them each 1 yard of fabric but the edging was too expensive so they got just the fabric. At 6 they each got 1 1/2 yards.

They still use all of these. 1/2 yard of fleece perfectly fit over a crib mattress/toddler bed. 1 yard is still huge for my 3yo. There is nothing else needed to be done. Fleece doesn't unravel or anything, the edging is just for decoration and fleece comes in lots of cute designs/colors (my favorite is the green frogs on light blue that my 3yo has).

They are 9, almost 8, 6 1/2 and 3 and still use their fleece blankets.

ProudSingleMum

on Aug 8, 2009 at 4:19 PM

my aunt is a crotcheting and crafting person. I have more blankets (all the 'right' size for my kid) than he could EVER use :)

blogginmomma

on Aug 8, 2009 at 9:30 PM

I bought a microfiber twin size blanket at Target and cut it into 4 sections. My lovely mom surged the edges for me since I can't sew a straight line to save my life. The extra bonus is he can go to sleep w/ a fresh blanket and I can wash the other one, and life is good for both of us! No hurrying to get it out of the dryer and back into bed in time. lol

I'm going to do this for my 2nd son and use a different color blanket so there will be no fighting over them ;)

JoyfulMary

on Aug 9, 2009 at 12:54 AM

what an incredible idea!!! I love that! I am going to try that myself. That way we are both happy!

Cafe Cynthia

on Aug 10, 2009 at 9:44 AM

I can't sew that great either, but I do know how to use a needle and threat. That's all I did -- sewed the edges of the blankets together by hand. Took about an hour, not too bad.

ldylancer03

on Aug 10, 2009 at 1:13 PM

my sons favorite blanket is the one and only one i have made. he has had it since he was like 2mths old (almost 3 now) and i have had to fix it many times cause it gets used so much...its the fabric i have to fix...not the stitch which makes me happy that i was able to do it. haha. i am thinking about making another one with the same fabric for christmas this year.

CuriousSarahM

on Aug 11, 2009 at 2:06 AM

DD (2) sleeps in a toddler bed (and by "sleeps in" I mean, she has a toddler bed that I put her in at least twice a night, yet every morning I wake up to her sleeping across my legs) and has the bedding to match, which means her blanket is just right for her size.

DS who still sleeps in a crib, sleeps under a baby blanket. He's only 10 months, so he's not exactly out growing anything just yet.