steak and blanket weekend {part 1}

For the first time in a while I had a very productive weekend.  One of the ladies I work with is pregnant and she's having a baby shower this coming Saturday.  I'm super excited about it, (the shower and the little one it's for).  Every time someone in our family has a baby my mom makes them a baby quilt.  She always picks the cutest little fabrics and they're never too cutesy or power blue/baby pink.  Since I took the "Mitered Blanket" class at The Needle Shop I thought I'd give it a go and make a blanket for my friend.  I went to TNS and got some fabric, it was hard to find fabric that would work for a boy, I never noticed before how girly everything is.

I decided to go with Polka Dots! A personal favorite.  This is what I made:

First cut two squares. The "feature fabric" is a 33 X 33 square and the back and border is a 43 X 43 square.  Then fold them in half and marked the center of all four sides on both pieces of fabric with a fabric pencil.  Then, lay the fabrics "pretty sides" together with the smaller square on-top and match the center of the raw edge:

Pin the edges together and sew along the pinned edge starting and stopping a 1/2" in from the feature fabric:

Next match up the centers of the raw edges on the opposite side and do the same as before:

On the next side match up the centers by holding the corners on either side and pulling.  The feature fabric will pull up and you'll see where the fabric meets up.  It might be a tiny bit off from the centers (not too much) but that's o.k.:

Pin the raw edges together, and sew from seam line to seam line:

Do the same for the last edge but when you sew, switch to a basting seam in the middle for about 6" (back stitching before and after), just enough space to pull the blanket through:

Next step is the corners.  To create the "Mitered" corners fold the blanket in half diagonally.  Mark the end of your stitch line with a pin and draw a line that makes a 90 degree angle with the folded edge. Like so:

This type of ruler makes it really easy, if you line up a 45 degree angle with the ruler on your seam line, it will create the 90 degree angle for you.

Pin this together and sew along the drawn line:

Trim the edges to a 1/2" seam allowance:

After you've finished all your corners lay the blanket flat and press the corner seams open and the edge seams out from the middle:

The next step is to open your basting stitches and pull the blanket right side out.  Push out the corners and lay the blanket out flat and even.  There is just one more step.

So the blanket doesn't completely loose it's shape when it goes through the washer and drier you'll need to sew a seam line around the entire blanket on the inner edge of the border (where the two fabrics meet).  This will also close up your opening from pulling the blanket through.  Pin along the inner edge of the border all the way around the blanket and sew your last stitches:

It is also recommended that you sew another square in the center of the blanket to stabilize the layers even further but my colors are so different that I skipped that step.  (I also skipped it last time and it's worked out fine).

Here's my Blanket!!!:

(I look a little creepy peaking out from behind the blanket, and my lack of make-up doesn't help)

(Just as long as no one looks at the baby like that I think we'll be fine)

Up close shot:

What do you think? Is it manly enough for a baby boy??  I know there's a little pink in there, but this baby will be secure enough in his masculinity to pull it off, I just know it!