Toolbox
- microfleece fabric
- assorted ribbons
- straight pins
- thread
- sewing machine
- scissors
Photos
Fig 1: The cut materials
Fig 2: Pin ribbons along one side
Fig 3: Pin other sides, overlapping corner ribbons
Fig 4: Lay the other fabric face down and pin in place
Fig 5: Sew along the edges and trim the corner
Fig 6: Flip inside out and see one loose ribbon
Fig 7: Fold the edges in and tuck the ribbon inside
Fig 8: Pin the loose ribbon in place
Fig 9: Sew around the edges, securing the ribbons
Fig 10: The finished product
Ever notice how you can give a baby a stuffed toy and the first thing he does is go straight to the tag? Tags are fascinating to babies and they love to play with them and put them in their mouths. Somebody brilliant decided to make a line of toys and blankets that are dedicated to the tags, and they are lovingly called Taggies.
A friend of mine received a Taggie blanket for her son as a gift and he fell so in love with it that she asked me if I could make him some more, and I happily agreed. Since then, I make them as gifts for most baby showers I attend, and they are always well received. They’re really easy to make. Let me show you how.
Gather your supplies
The material for your blanket should be something soft and baby-friendly. My favorite materials to use for this are microfleece, and flannel,
because they are super soft and thin enough to sew easily. You could use regular fleece too, but be ready for a battle with your sewing machine when you get to the part where you’re sewing several thick layers of fleece and your thread wants to break!
For the ribbons, you can use any ribbon you like, as long as it’s made of fabric and baby-friendly. I prefer satin and grosgrain ribbons. You can use just one color or mix and match the patterns of ribbon for the effect you want. My favorite ribbon width to use is 3/4″, but you can use variations. This is a great way to use up extra bits of ribbon leftover from scrapbooking!
You’ll also need some straight pins, thread, a sewing machine,
Cut the materials
Figure out how big you want your taggie blanket to be and cut two layers of fabric 1″ bigger than that. In other words, for a 12″ blanket, cut two pieces of fabric 13″x13″ (Fig 1). That will give you a seam allowance of 1/2″ on each side.
Cut the ribbons into 6″ lengths (Fig 1). You’ll need to put one ribbon about every 2 inches along each side of the blanket. For a 12″ blanket, I use 4 ribbons on each side (16 total).
Pin the ribbons in place
Lay one piece of material face up on the table. Take a ribbon and fold it in half and pin it on top of the fabric so that the folded edge is towards the middle and the two cut ends are touching the end of the fabric. (This may seem wrong, but we’re building this blanket inside out, and it’ll all work out when we flip it later.) Be sure to put the pin at least an inch away from the edge of the fabric so that it won’t get in the way of your sewing.
Keep pinning ribbons along one side, spacing them about 2 inches apart (Fig 2). Now do the same thing for the other three sides (Fig 3). When you get to the corners and find that two ribbons overlap, don’t worry; just pin them down together.
Sew it together
Now lay the other piece of fabric face down on top of your pinned piece, aligning the edges (Fig 4). Secure with a few more pins. Take this to the sewing machine and sew around all four sides, about 1/2″ in from the edge, making sure you catch both ends of each ribbon as you go. However, be sure not to sew ALL the way around — leave a gap of about 2 inches open — so that you can flip the blanket inside out. When you’re done, take your scissors and snip the point of fabric off of each corner (Fig 5), but be careful that you don’t cut the stitches. This will keep your corners from being too bulky when you flip it.
Flip it inside out
Carefully turn the blanket inside out by pushing it through the little gap you left in the stitching. Be very careful, because there are lots of sharp pins inside! You can remove all of the pins as you see them. You’ll notice that the one ribbon that was next to the stitching gap is still loose, because you didn’t sew it down (Fig 6). Remove the pin from this ribbon, too. Fold the edges of fabric along the gap inwards and tuck the ends of the loose ribbon inside (Fig 7). Pin it in place, being sure to go through all layers of the fabric (Fig 8).
Sew the edges
Now one more trip to the sewing machine. This time, you’ll want to sew as close to the edge of the fabric as possible, and all the way around (Fig 9). This row of stitches will serve several purposes: it will close the gap you left for flipping, it will secure that last loose ribbon in place, it will add extra strength to the stitches holding the ribbons in place, it will help keep the blanket flat, and it will look pretty!
And now you’re done! (Fig 10).
16 comments so far:
THANK YOU very much for the details, and especially the picture!
I have made a taggie blanket and now want to attach a nice written description to the gift. Any ideas?
Good question, Wendy. Hmm. Maybe something like this? “Kids tend to play with the boxes and tags more than the toys themselves, so here’s a toy that’s covered in tags, for your little baby to enjoy!”
Anybody else have any ideas?
do you know where we can buy the ribbons for the taggie blanket? Do you have to make them individually? Thanks
Monica, you can use any fabric (not plastic) ribbon you like, but I think satin ribbon works best. There are plenty of patterns to choose from at the craft store, fabric store, or even Walmart. You can buy it by the spool or by the yard. I suggest getting 3/4″ wide ribbon and cut it into 6″ lengths.
Wonderful instructions. I have made 3 now for my grandchildren. The babies love them.
Thanks
Thanks, Beth! I’m glad your grandchildren are enjoying the blankets you made for them
I’m super glad that I came across this site- my 7 month old eats the tags/cords on everything- hopefully this will deter him from those- now that he’ll have his own tags to chew!
I made one of these. I actually pinned the tags in place on the flannel, I did a basting stitch to keep them in place, then I layered and sewed the 2 layers together, this kept me from having to use all of the pins on loose ribbons when sewing.
That’s a great tip, Diana. Thanks for sharing!
I just made one for my daughter. its the second time i have used the sewing machine and it came out great! thanks alot!!
Congrats on a successful project, toni!
Diana and toni, we’d love to see pictures of your blankets if you want share them with us. Just upload them to our flickr group!
I just made my daughter one, she won’t let go of the other one we got for her, so i can wash it. So I decide to make one. It’s the 1st time I have sewn anything since High School 15 years ago. Thank you for the simple instructions. Now I will making them more for baby gifts. Also I work at a Daycare Center, and you have tons of cool ideas on your website. Keep up the good work. God Bless!
Mindy, I’m so happy that we got you sewing again! The blankets are so fun and easy to make and do make great gifts
Thanks for the kind words about our site. We’d love to see pictures of any of our projects that you’ve completed at your daycare center!
I made a few of these.. roughly 10″ x 10″ (not counting the ribbons) I used two totally different textured fabrics. One side with a print and the other with either fleece or fluffy/soft or even satin. I also cut a piece of plastic bag (poke holes in it to avoid suffocation!!) and i sew it on the same side as the ribbons are on. when you turn it inside out the plastic is on the inside and it makes a crinkly sound, which babies love! IMPORTANT: Never leave your child unattended with these toys! Never let them play with these while on their tummy unless supervised, and make sure the ribbon loops are small enough so their hands cannot get in and get stuck.
Wow, Linda, those sound great! The crinkly plastic is a very neat idea. We’d love for you to add photos to our Flickr group if you’re willing to share.
(Thanks also for the safety warnings. You can never be too careful!)