Sewing Project: Car Seat Blanket.

This WAS the current project, but I am happy to announce as of 11:30 PM last night, its officially not current!

I finished my first solo sewing project!


Maybe I shouldn't call it solo, because I had a lot of back up.  Emily, Susan, Ann, and Mom... thanks for your encouragement and trouble shooting tips. The assistance came at a perfect time! It turned out that it was cheap thread, that the tension knob needs oil and still needs some TLC, that the bobbin area had some fuzz in it, and that my son had set the special switch selector dial THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WAS THERE to a rick-rack setting, which did make it look wrong.


Anyway, its done and is being enjoyed!

I bought the fleece for DHH because he loves all things Mickey Mouse, and now that he is forward facing in his car seat, he needs a longer blanket for the car. (You aren't supposed to have children in thick coats and in car seats because it is a safety hazard).

This project was tricky because I didn't think it through. I should have researched how to do mitered corners properly.  Instead I did it as best as I could, provided that I'd already cut the binding! It also means I have to hand stitch the four binding pieces together, rather than using these REALLY good  instructions.

I will also say that I feel a bit too ashamed to take close up photos of the actual sewing.  There are a lot of errors.  There are fewer errors as I progressed in the project, and a few of the errors are machine errors.  I learned how to thread the machine and wind the bobbin a lot quicker.  I learned how to feed the fabric in at a steady rate. I learned a lot.

And it looks like a seventh grade FACS student made it.  But my kid doesn't know the difference.  The one I make for EK might look like a 10th grader made it.  Which is cool to consider!

When I finished the blanket, I went into my (snoring) kid's room and snuggled it around him.  That was a rewarding feeling, and I kind of felt a kinship to those pioneer women who quilted for necessity and wrapped their children in blankets made by their own two hands.

Kind of.
They didn't use synthetic fabric with ridiculous mice on them, but I am giving up the ghost of trying to raise this kid in a commercial-free and sustainable way.

Also, note that I am allowing him to be a couch potato and watch Mickey Mouse Club while wearing Mickey jammies and using his Mickey blanket.

FYI:
Here's clear instructions for the Faux Mitered Corners.
Here are the basic instructions I followed for making the blanket from Prudent Baby.