Ah, the English Summer! What does it mean to you?
For me, it’s day trips to the coast, balmy evenings sat outdoors until after sundown, weekend breakfasts in the garden, outdoor concerts in the grounds of old ruins……in short – being outside.
And being outside is made all the more perfect if you take that most quintessentially English thing with you – a picnic. Dressed down with sandwiches and a flask of tea at the seaside, or glammed up with champagne and a candelabra for a classical concert, everyone loves a picnic, with a soft, warm, waterproof picnic blanket to relax on in comfort…….
……except we haven’t got one.
Well, we didn’t have until recently when I decided to take advantage of being part of the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network and make one.
I didn’t want to make just any old picnic blanket, oh no, I wanted the ‘deluxe’ version, something a bit special, so decided to make a patchwork blanket with a waterproof backing and a carry handle. As there are four boys in the house (if you include Mr H-L), anything too pink and girly was out of the question, but I thought I could get away with a small floral print if the main colour was blue.
After much deliberation, this is what I finally ordered: – 1.5m each of plastic coated red gingham, floral patchwork print polycotton, and denim blue polycotton. This makes a blanket approximately 1.25m x 1.25m.
My Olfa Quiltmaking Kit came with this mat, rotary cutter and 6.5″ square ruler, so I kept things simple by cutting the patchwork squares the same size as the ruler.
Cutting through folded fabric made short work of all those squares as I could cut through four layers at a time – using a rotary cutter and the quilting ruler ensured that they were accurately cut, which is essential in patchwork.
In no time at all I had two piles of neatly stacked patchwork squares, 36 of the floral and 45 of the plain making 81 in total.
The easiest way to keep accurate seam allowances is to line up the edge of the fabric with the edge of the machine foot, the needle in the central position. On my machine, that means a seam allowance of 1cm throughout.
Whilst it may sound obvious, there is a quick way to whizz through all those squares.
Start by sewing them in pairs, each floral with a plain, right sides together. You will need to make 36 pairs which should leave you with 9 spare squares – 5 plain and 4 floral.
Don’t bother reversing your stitching at the beginning and end of each set, cutting the thread and repeating with the next pair – just keep feeding the pairs through the machine one after the other as shown below.
When all the pairs of squares are sewn, snip the joining stitches to separate them.
Repeat this process with the pairs of squares…
….until you have rows of 4….
….then sew the rows of 4 together to make rows of 8. Now add one of your left over squares to the end of each row.
You should now have 9 rows of 9 squares.
Press all the seam allowances to one side.
To minimise any bulk at the seams, you may wish to alternate the direction in which you press them flat.
Join these rows along the long edges, matching and pinning the seams as you go.
Continue until all your strips of patchwork are sewn together into one large square.
As I reached this stage, I made the spontaneous decision to add a layer of wadding between this top layer and the bottom layer. (I had plenty in my stash, but you can buy it here.)
I cut a square of wadding slightly larger all the way around than the patchwork piece, laid it on top of the wrong side of the patchwork and pinned it around the entire edge.
Stitch close to the raw edges all around the outside and trim the excess wadding as shown.
Now the wadding is secured, you can use large tacking stitches through both layers to stop them shifting whilst quilting.
Stitch in the ‘ditch’ using a long stitch length until the whole blanket has been quilted along the seam lines.
Place the quilted layer onto the vinyl backing, wrong sides together, and trim the backing so that it is 1.5cm bigger than the top all the way around.
Using clips, fold the excess vinyl over to the right side of the blanket and secure in place.
A teflon foot makes the vinyl move smoothly through the machine, and a leather needle with its wedged shape will stop any skipped stitches (discovered through trial and error!)
A simple long straight stitch close to the raw edge of the vinyl is all that is needed.
Mitre the corners as you go for a neat finish.
I was left with a few scraps of fabric and vinyl, so I also designed a fabric roll to act as a carry pack for the blanket.
For the carry pack, cut 3 floral and 2 plain squares the same size as before and sew them all together in a single row. Press.
Cut a piece of spare vinyl 1.5cm smaller than the patchwork strip and place in the centre of the strip, wrong sides together.
Turn a narrow hem…..
….and stitch in place close to the inner folded edge around all 4 sides, mitring the corners as you go.
Cut two pieces of vinyl for the handles, each measuring 20cm x 5cm.
Fold the long upper edge in to the wrong side by 1cm, and bring the lower edge up to meet it, overlapping a little to encase the raw edge as shown below.
Stitch close to the raw edge.
Repeat with the second handle.
Position the two ends of the handle in the corner of the carry pack using the photograph as a guide.
Stitch in place with a 1cm seam.
Fold the handle to the outside and turn over, vinyl side down.
Cut a 12cm strip of velcro hook and loop fastener and sew the hook side to the fabric side of the carry pack, being sure to catch the handle in the ‘up’ position, securing it in place at the same time.
Repeat with the loop side at the other end of the carrier.
When the blanket is rolled up, wrap the carry pack around it and press the velcro strips together.
For a picnic in the garden (or anywhere), just add bunting, a squishy cushion and a hamper full of goodies.
Sun is a bonus for a picnic, but not when taking photographs (too much contrast)…
The perfect fusion of girl/boy styling that anyone would be happy to sit on.
No more damp bums!
A lovely layer of wadding for added comfort.
The carry pack with handles means that it’s compact and easy to transport.
Marley was interested to see what was going on – sometimes our hens are just a little bit too friendly!
Now all we need is for Summer to return so we can actually use our lovely new picnic blanket!!
July 15, 2015 at 2:32 am
Brilliantly done!
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July 15, 2015 at 9:35 am
Thanks – it was fun to do patchwork again, even if it was this basic:)
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July 15, 2015 at 3:07 am
Beautifully done, and a great tutorial! (Nice to know picnics are really traditional there.)
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July 15, 2015 at 9:36 am
Thank you and, yes, the English do love a good picnic, rain or no rain:)
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July 15, 2015 at 7:02 am
Fab tutorial! I think I need one of those for my cricket picnics! 😀
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July 15, 2015 at 9:37 am
Definitely – I’m thinking of designing one with an integrated sleeping bag for those chillier days….!
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July 15, 2015 at 10:45 am
Ooo! Good idea!! 😃
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July 15, 2015 at 7:58 am
Oh that’s lovely and a clear tute too. Enjoy!
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July 15, 2015 at 9:37 am
Thanks, it took a while with all those photos…
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July 15, 2015 at 8:58 am
Love the pretty fabric choices and great tutorial too 🙂 I’ll bet there are many, many happy days to come on your lovely picnic blanket 😉
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July 15, 2015 at 9:39 am
Thank you – we actually wore our old one out so I made this one a little more sturdy to cope with heavy use:)
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July 15, 2015 at 9:38 pm
Being able to wear out a picnic blanket can only mean one thing….A great outdoor lifestyle 😉 May this new one endure the same!!!
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July 15, 2015 at 9:03 am
This looks great! Thanks for taking the time to photograph every step.
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July 15, 2015 at 9:39 am
Thanks, documenting each step takes ages and I always wish I’d taken more photos!
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July 15, 2015 at 10:15 am
Oh this is perfect! Your seams are spot on and your tutorials are always so clear. I love that it has wadding in it – I can imagine it’s so nice and comfy.
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July 15, 2015 at 10:23 am
Thanks Beth, It’s good to have positive feedback on tutorials as I never quite know if they’re clear enough or have enough/too many photographs. The wadding was a last minute addition which I’m so glad I did as it makes all the difference when sat on the ground for long periods.
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July 15, 2015 at 10:34 am
It really is very good. I could make one now 🙂 I like how you sewed the pairs of squares without taking them off the machine each time!
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July 15, 2015 at 10:39 am
It saves SO much time doing it like that and, as you’re sewing more seams, it doesn’t matter that they’re not back stitched at each end:)
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July 15, 2015 at 11:19 am
What a great, great project and idea!! Makes me want to go on a picnic!
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July 15, 2015 at 6:13 pm
Me too, only the English Summer seems to be taking a break for a week or so!
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July 15, 2015 at 11:30 am
Such a lovely blanket. Simple but really effective! As it’s waterproof you really can picnic rain or shine, if it rains just sit under it!! 🙂
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July 15, 2015 at 6:14 pm
Ha ha, I suppose you can! Usually we just sit on it with umbrellas:)
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July 15, 2015 at 12:37 pm
This is something I’ll try to sew by using all my fabric remanants….
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July 15, 2015 at 6:15 pm
What a good way to use up scraps – you will show us, I hope?
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July 15, 2015 at 6:43 pm
Of course I will! I have only to understand how I have to sew the corners and make them look neat as yours do! How do you do them? My sides are always irregular 😞
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July 15, 2015 at 6:46 pm
You fold the point of the corner in and press, then fold each side in – the edges should meet perfectly:)
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July 15, 2015 at 6:55 pm
Understood! In fact,it is a brilliant way to keep corners neat. Now I’m more and more tempted to try! Off to write down the pattern 😉
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July 15, 2015 at 12:44 pm
A great make. I’m sure this will inspire many to make the same!
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July 15, 2015 at 6:16 pm
I hope so, it’s better than anything you can buy and probably costs less too!
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July 15, 2015 at 1:31 pm
What a great idea. That waterproof layer is something missing from all my outdoor blankets.
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July 15, 2015 at 6:17 pm
I know and I hate a damp bum! The waterproof backing was a must for me.
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July 15, 2015 at 2:10 pm
I’ll be trying this. Love the wadding idea too. So cute!
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July 15, 2015 at 6:17 pm
Look forward to seeing your version!
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July 15, 2015 at 2:50 pm
Sheila this post gets a double wow!! Not only can you use your tutorial for a waterproof blanket but also a regular cloth quilt! I saved this one in my favorites. As always thanks a ton! You rock!
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July 15, 2015 at 6:19 pm
I hadn’t looked at it like that, but I’m pleased you find it useful! I really would love to see some of your makes sometime…..
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July 15, 2015 at 6:37 pm
No problem girlie! Give me the best email to use to send pics to.
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July 15, 2015 at 6:39 pm
info@sewchet.com
Thanks! xx
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July 15, 2015 at 7:45 pm
Lovely clear tutorial and a great picnic blanket – far more stylish than me and my non-waterproof blanket plus ground sheet. I may have to make one. Won’t ask how you wore the last one out.
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July 15, 2015 at 7:52 pm
The old one was bought – the tartan kind with thin wet-resistant backing. Wore out due to sheer crapness of quality:)
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July 15, 2015 at 9:16 pm
This is perfect for combatting wet bottoms! I might try to add a waterproof backing to the blanket we already have – thanks for sharing 🙂
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July 16, 2015 at 6:33 pm
Good idea, it shouldn’t be difficult to do that:)
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July 15, 2015 at 10:07 pm
I am just about to make a liner for my picnic basket, a matching blanket sounds ideal. Very clear tutorial – thanks
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July 16, 2015 at 6:34 pm
You’re welcome – I’m just about to make a liner for the picnic basket in this post too!
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July 18, 2015 at 8:44 am
Your tutorials are truly the best and so are the lovely projects you make! Marianne xx
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July 19, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Thank you – I’ve got a few gifts I’ve made this week which I can’t wait to blog about. Not my own designs but the finished items are just so pretty. I do enjoy making tutorials in as clear a way as possible. Sharing the love of crafting is such a fun thing to do. x
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April 30, 2017 at 9:56 am
A fantastic tutorial on picnic blanket making. Super easy to follow! Thank you.
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July 30, 2017 at 1:51 am
Sorry, I’m very new to this. If I cut 36 of 1 fabric and 45 of the other won’t I be left with 9 of the same fabric after making 36 pairs? Am I missing something?
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July 30, 2017 at 10:53 am
Yes, all will become clear if you read ALL the instructions first!!
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September 30, 2017 at 9:12 am
Really enjoyed that great make
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September 30, 2017 at 12:12 pm
That’s so good to hear, thanks!
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April 19, 2018 at 3:44 pm
That’s a clever little carry handle, and even better that they’re matchy matchy! Your blanket looks so comfy
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April 19, 2018 at 5:18 pm
Thanks, it’s had SO much use the last couple of years and still looks as good as the day it was made!
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August 18, 2018 at 8:18 am
Great idea to make waterproof back into the binding
How do you wash the blanket?
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August 18, 2018 at 8:55 am
I just spot clean it – it’s a few years old now, and hasn’t needed more than that.
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May 12, 2021 at 11:30 am
Very nice but I would have liked to see measurements in inches for those of us in the U.S.
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