Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Even in the mild Spring weather I still find myself reaching for a blanket if I am reading or watching a movie on the couch at night. This is a problem because, until now,  I didn’t have any throw sized blankets, only gigantic bed sized quilts which aren’t very convenient when you have to fold them back up at the end of the night.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

At a recent Purl Bee meeting Page mentioned that she was having the same issue and the idea for this project was born! We decided to make a very quick, very simply quilted lap blanket using a technique that Joelle used in the “Super Quick + Easy Baby Quilt” project from her book, Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

We also decided to use some of our favorite new fabric from designer Naomi Ito’s Nani Iro Double Gauze. These prints are beyond gorgeous. They have a unique painterly quality and come in the most beautiful colors. The fabric itself is a soft double gauze perfect for a Spring project. The wool batting I used made this piece feel so lofty that it in the end it seemed more like a fluffy duvet than a regular blanket.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

This is my absolute favorite kind of sewing project: useful, beautiful, and quick. I actually timed it and it turns out that the entire project takes less than 2 and a half hours from start to finish. It would make a great housewarming gift and best of all you could whip it up on the afternoon of the housewarming party!

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Update: New Fabrics

JUNE 15, 2015

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Using Purl Soho’s crisp and cool Linen Grid on one side and decadently soft and cozy Lana Cotta Canberra wool on the other gives this old friend a whole new look! We can’t think of a more winning combination or a better couch companion. For the full list of new materials click here.

Other Ideas: Lap Duvets in Flannel!

In March 2012 I made a new Flannel version of these duvets! Sophisticated and elegant they use a mix of subtle Kiyohara’s Linen Blend Solids and Ecrulet’s ultra soft Flannel Stripes. The combination of fabrics is so plush and inviting that when I was all done, I felt like I had five puffy clouds on my desk. Everyone who walked by wanted to sink right into them!

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

  • 1 3/4-yards Ecrulet Flannel Stripes in Grey. (This particular fabric is no longer available, but please check out all of our current flannel fabrics for some great alternatives!)
  • 1 3/4-yards of a Kiyohara Linen Blend Solid. I used, from top to bottom in the materials pic above: Violet, Lavender, Denim, Light Beige, and Brown.
  • A crib sized Wool Batting
  • 100% cotton thread in color 3170. For this version of this project I used the same thread in the top and the bobbin.

Even More Ideas!

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And Even More!

August 21, 2019

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To celebrate our new Spectrum Cotton, we’ve revisited this fun and super easy pattern! Spectrum Cotton comes in over 40 insanely beautiful garment-dyed colors. Choose the two that call your name (impossible to go wrong!) and whip up this simplest of classics!

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Molly Schnick. Click here to see even more of Molly’s work!

Materials

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

To make one blanket…

  • Two 1 3/4-yards  pieces of Nani Iro Double Gauze. We used Rainbow Pocho for Fabric A and Grey Saaa Saa for Fabric B in the example duvet. (The purple duvet is made from Purple Fuwari and  Lavendar Pocho. The orange and pink duvet is made from Orange Fuwari and White Fuwari)
  • A crib sized Wool Batting
  • A spool or two of 100% cotton thread (If you want the quilt stitches to match the fabric, get a spool to match each fabric color; if you want contrast quilt stitches, you can use just that color throughout.)

Size

Finished Dimensions: Approximately 58-inches by 42-inches

Pattern

Cut + Sew Together

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Cut each of the fabrics to 60 inches long. Do not cut the selvages.

Press both of them flat.

Lay Fabric A right side up, and smooth it out so there are no wrinkles. Do this on a clean surface large enough for the entire piece of fabric (I used my just-vacuumed living room floor).

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Lay Fabric B on top of Fabric A, wrong side up, aligning selvages if the fabrics are the same width. If they’re not the same width, as here, center the narrower one on top of the wider one.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

If necessary, cut along the selvages of the wider fabric to align with the narrower fabric. If the pieces aren’t exactly the same length, trim those edges, too.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Lay the batting on top of the fabrics. Cut it to align with the fabrics.

Pin these three layers together along all four sides.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Using your machine’s walking foot (and the lighter color thread, if using two), sew around all four pinned sides with a 6/8-inch seam allowance. Leave an 8-inch gap in the middle of one of the short sides.

Clip off the corners.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Turn the blanket right sides out through the gap. The right sides of both fabric will be facing out, the batting will be on the inside, and the seams will be hidden. Poke the corners out so they are nice and pointy.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Pin the gap closed with the raw edges on the inside of the blanket and hand-stitch it closed with a slip stitch.

Quilt

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Press the blanket on both sides and smooth it down on the flat surface again. Make sure there are no major wrinkles.

Pin a safety pin through all three layers every 7 inches along the entire blanket. Measure as shown above, starting with a pin that is 7 inches from the top and 7 inches from the side. Place the next pin 7 inches to the right of this one, the next one 7 inches below the first, etc.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Repeat this until the entire duvet is pinned every 7 inches.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

(If matching thread to fabric, use the thread to match Fabric B in the bobbin and the thread to match Fabric A in the needle, and insert the blanket into the machine with the Fabric A side facing up.) Using the machine’s walking foot, quilt the blanket together at the pinned points using a bar tacking stitch, or a short and wide zig zag. Remove the safety pins as you come to them.

Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

Stitch in this manner at each pinned point, trim any excess threads, press one more time, and you’re all done! Enjoy! -Molly