Beach Blanket

Beach blanket -- measures 65 inches by 91 inches

We've been spending a bit of time at the beach this summer. Not quite as much as I'd like, but enough that I have a tan line. We have a couple of major events coming up this weekend that will require time spent sitting on dirt and grass. So, I used it as motivation to make a beach blanket. I've had it in mind for a while now, just needed something to push me over the edge into actually doing the work.

Believe it or not, I actually had this HUGE piece of fabric in my stash. It's from back in the day when I used to make purses.

Here's the steps I used to turn it into beach blanket:

1. Cut the fabric in half from selvage to selvage.

2. Cut each piece in half again, from selvage to selvage.

3. Sew two pieces together along the selvage edge. Repeat for remaining two pieces.

4. Open both pieces of fabric up, and place them with right sides together. Pin around the perimeter. The selvage edges should match on both short sides.

5. Sew around the perimeter, leaving a 12 inch hole for turning the blanket inside out.

6. Turn it inside out. Iron the edges for a smooth finish. Iron the opening so that it will close evenly with the rest of the edge of the blanket.

7. Sew a second seam about 1/4 to 3/8 from the edge. This will help it to have a more finished look even when wrinkly.

8. Sew several seams similar to quilting lines inside the center of the blanket to keep the two halves together.

I hope this blanket has many sunny days in it's future!