Faux Chenille Blanket - aka the Flannel Eater

So I'll admit that I have a flannel problem...it's so soft and cute that I just can't resist on the Black Friday sales!!  I've used it for a few things over the years, the back of quilts (Star Wars and a 1600 pink one), pj pants, a few swaddled animals....and that's about it.  Since I can't seem to stop buying it, I finally decided to try embroidering some flannel and turning it into receiving blankets.  I got them embroidered...and that was as far as I got.

Then I ran across a tutorial for faux chenille blankets and decided it was a perfect way to use up my stash!  I ordered a tool from amazon (seriously worth the money if you plan on making more than one!)

The amazing tool, just a few cuts into the project.

There are a lot of techniques for the start, such as using basting spray to stick the layers together or starch and ironing...I decided that was too much work so I stacked and pinned.  There was some shifting, but it worked!  I did have to trim off a lot later, but my cuts weren't perfect to begin with, and some of my flannel seemed wider anyway.

I used one front piece (1 yard) with embroidery on the corner (not very close to the edge since I knew I'd need to square it up later)  The backing was four - 1 yard cuts of various flannels, layered so they were light/dark/light/bright and would look neat when you see them in the finished product.  I think next time I'll do an additional layer that isn't cut to make sure the embroidery back is hidden.  Make sure the bottom layer you cut is a VERY different color than the layer you aren't cutting, I would cry if I cut through the front and ruined the blanket after all that sewing!!

Large flat work space is a must for this!

I drew the line on the 'front' of the blanket, to make sure when I sewed through the embroidery it didn't mess it up.  And then I sewed each line about 3/8" apart.  I say 'about' because my lines wander a bit...I zoned out a few times...

The magic of a camera shot that makes them look straight!  LOL!

After it was sewn, I had to cut all those channels.  ALL OF THEM.  It took me an afternoon/evening to sew all the lines, and then another day to cut.  Mainly because I kept getting bored and was running my embroidery machine at the same time...  The tool was amazing, but I'd have to stop every so often to pull the fuzz out of the blade, or advance it to a new spot.  I think I'll need to stock up on blades for this thing because it goes through like a hot knife through butter when it's 'fresh' but after a few lines you are pushing it through.

Help me netflix, you're my only hope!

Next time I won't bind before washing, I had some wonky shrinking and even though I had squared it up, it's no longer exactly square.... grrrrr.

Cut and bound with satin pre-made binding, not washed.

Although it was nice to just pull it out of the dryer and have it done!  Hmm....

So pretty all fluffy!  This was just the first wash, and it should get softer over time!

The personalized embroidery should help with the 'cute' factor, and I can't wait to have time to make more!!

The sleeping unicorn pile is from Urban Threads.  I have several other patterns begging to be made!

I'm tempted to try a few for the etsy shop...maybe just some sleeping animal piles without the names!