How to Sew a Ribbon Tag Baby Blanket
When my daughter Layla was a baby, she was the cutest little thumb sucker you ever did see! She would find the one tag on any of her blankets and rub it while sucking her thumb and it was the sweetest thing. I wanted to make her a blanket with lots of ribbon tags for her to play with and that’s how this little project started. That baby is now 14 and I’m just now posting a tutorial for this blanket! (Read to the end and I’ll tell you why I waited so long, it’s kind of a sad story).
SO, today, enjoy this video tutorial for how to sew a ribbon tag baby blanket, where I’ll show you how to make a basic flannel baby blanket, step by step, with tags of cute ribbons all the way around it, sure to delight the little ones. I’ve made countless ribbon tag baby blankets over the years now because they make the best handmade baby shower gifts. (Some people know these kinds of blankets as “taggies”, but that’s part of the sad story I’m going to share at the end, so I’m not going to use that word, ha!)
As a bonus, and a more convenient way for you to use this tutorial over and over without having to reference the video, I have also created a printable pdf version, which you can purchase for a few dollars in my shop! You can also grab the Sew for Baby pattern bundle, which includes this project, plus three others, perfect for a baby shower gift set.
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How to Sew a Ribbon Tag Baby Blanket
Fabrics and Materials
Here’s what you need:
Two coordinating 1 yard cuts of flannel fabric, or other soft, baby friendly fabric. Fabric.com has a ton of cute novelty flannels. Cotton gauze would work well and be very trendy! I don’t recommend minky, but mostly because I don’t like minky, I think it’s sweaty and the weird stretch of it would make it difficult to work with for this particular project. But you do you, haha.
4 yards total of coordinating ribbons. I use four different ribbons, 1 yard each. You can do all the same ribbon if you want, or two ribbons, or whatever. I use varying widths from 5/8” to 2”. Avoid too skinny of ribbons, as you don’t want babies to be able to get their fingers twisted up in them. I usually choose my fabrics first, then take it to Hobby Lobby with me to choose the perfect ribbons.
Tag Blanket Video Tutorial
Here you go! I filmed this video version for you, using some snuggle flannels from JoAnn. This beginner friendly video will teach you an easy method for cutting your fabrics into a perfect square, the right lengths to cut the ribbons, and an easy way to pin them all on with the perfect spacing. See? I’ve done all the work for you, so even if you’re a seasoned sewist, you can save your brain power for other projects!
I mentioned a few links in the video, so I’ll link those here, in case you didn’t hop over to YouTube to read those notes!
This is the rotary cutter, ruler and mat set I usually recommend, and here is the extra large mat I use in the video. You can use the smaller mat for this project, but a big one sure is nice to have and keep on my cutting table!
Here is the baby bib tutorial I mentioned in the video. This bib pattern remains one of my most popular projects ever, both on my blog, my YouTube channel, AND now in my pattern shop! I often sew a batch of bibs as baby shower gifts. They’re easy to make gender neutral too, which is handy when the mom-to-be doesn’t know the gender of her baby. Plus, just like the blanket, they’re fast to make!
I really hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and are inspired to make a tag blanket or two! Don’t forget that you can purchase a printable version to keep as a reference so you can more conveniently make more blankets without having to refer back to the video.
Now for that sad story and something else you should know.
After I made Layla her blankie, I began making more and more and was asked to make some for others. I sold a few at a craft fair with a friend and then decided to open an Etsy shop and made several to list there. BUT … it turns out a certain company has a patent on any item with a looped ribbon sewn between two pieces of fabric.
Yep. I didn’t know either.
Said company scours Etsy on the regular for people who are violating their patent and my listings were removed. As a young mom trying to make some fun money, it was sad and disheartening and it actually prevented me from trying again on Etsy for years. It affected me way more than it should have, but it was my first foray into turning sewing into some sort of income and it fell apart before it even got off the ground, and it just really planted some self doubt that took me a long time to get past.
So, the important part of this for you, is to know that while you can make as many of these tag blankets as you want for yourself and for gifts, you are prohibited from selling them. No big deal if you know that from the get-go!
While it’s taken me until just recently to try again with Etsy (and it’s going SO WELL, thank you guys so, so much!!), I am glad I learned to dig into patents and copyright law and all that stuff so that I can avoid those mistakes moving forward. I have some projects in the works now where that knowledge will come in handy and I’m so glad to know it because I probably would have made a similar mistake!
The end! Haha!
Happy Sewing :)
Nikki
P.S. Here’s a photo of sweet baby Layla with the OG tag blanket :)
