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.
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.
We also decided to use some of our favorite new fabric from designer Naomi Ito’s Nani Iro line. 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.
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!
Update: New Fabrics
JUNE 15, 2015
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!
- 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!
Materials
To make one blanket:
- Two 1 3/4-yards pieces of Nani Iro Fabric. I used Rainbow Pocho for Fabric A and Grey Saaa Saa for Fabric B 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) This particular fabric is no longer available, but please check out all of our current Japanese fabrics for some great alternatives!
- A crib sized Wool Batting
- A spool 100% cotton thread to match each fabric
Size
Approximately 58-inches by 42-inches
Pattern
Cutting and Sewing Together
Cut each of the fabrics to be 60-inches long. Do not cut the selvages.
Press both of them flat.
Lay Fabric A down, right side up and smooth it so there are no wrinkles. Do this along a clean surface large enough for the entire piece of fabric (I used my just-vacuumed living room floor.)
Then lay Fabric B fabric on top of Fabric A, wrong side up. In this case the striped fabric is slightly narrower than the dot fabric (it will be different for each fabric.) Center the striped fabric so that selvages of the wider fabric are poking out about 1/2-inch on either side.
Cut along the sides of the wider fabric to match it up with the more narrow fabric. If the pieces aren’t exactly the same length trim them to match.
Lay the batting on top of the fabrics. Cut it to match the fabrics in the same manner as you did for fabrics.
Pin these three layers together along all four sides.
Using your machine’s walking foot and the lighter of the threads sew around all four pinned sides with a 6/8-inch seam allowance leaving an 8-inch gap in the middle of one of the short sides.
Clip off the corners.
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.
Pin the gap closed with the raw edges on the inside of the blanket and handstitch it closed with a blindstitch.
Quilting
Press the duvet on both sides and smooth it down on the flat surface again. Make sure that there are no major wrinkles.
Pin a safety pin through all three layers of the duvet every 7-inches along the entire area. Measure as shown above starting with a pin that is 7-inches from the top and 7-inches from the side. The next pin will be placed 7-inches to the right of this one, the next one 7-inches below the first, etc.
Repeat this until the entire duvet is pinned every 7-inches
Using the thread to match Fabric B in the bobbin and the Thread to match Fabric A in the top insert the duvet into the machine with the Fabric A side facing up. Using the machine’s walking foot, quilt the duvet together at the pinned points using a bar tacking stitch, or a very short and wide zig zag. Remove the safety pins as you come to them.
The small quilting stitches will be almost invisible but will create a cozy tufted duvet.
Stitch in this manner at each pinned point, trim any excess threads, press one more time, and you’re all done! Enjoy! –Molly
PRINT
Is there a reason to use to throw size batting when then crib size one seems exactly the right size to make this lap blanket with?
Hi Pam-
You're right! I've changed the materials list. Thank you so much for pointing this out!
Best-
Molly
Do I need to wash the fabric first?
Hi Kate-
Yes, we do recommend that you wash the fabrics first.
Thank you for writing in!
Molly
Hi Molly!
Thanks for this post! Its amazing. I was scouting around for some gift ideas when I found this. Firstly I have to confess I have never done any kind of sewing before but I really want to try making this duvet. I dont have a machine but in response to one of the previous comments you mentioned that these can be hand sewed as well. Do you have any recommendations on how I can do that? I'd really appreciate your help!
Thank you!
Goda
Do you think it would be possible to hand sew this?
I know it would take longer, but I have no idea how to use a sewing machine..
Hi Josie-
Sure! This would be fine to hand sew, but you're right that it would take longer!
Thanks for your question!
Molly
I am new to Sewing and Quilting ….can you hand stitch it? If you use the Machine…how do you use go from point to point without joining the stitches?
Any advice would be awesome 🙂
P.S. I LOVE IT!
Hi Mama J-
Sure you can stitch the layers together by hand. Or if you do it my machine simply lift the foot and cut the threads when you are done with each pinned point.
Thanks for writing in!
Molly
A commenter asked about the care of this and the answer is that it is machine washable. What about drying? Can it go in the dryer at all on a low setting? Or is it strictly air dried? Thank you!
Hi Ruth-
It can be machine washed and dried. Just make sure to prewash and dry the fabrics before you sew with them.
Thanks for your question!
Molly
Personally, I prefer NOT to prewash and dry my fabrics. I like when my quilts shrink a little for extra texture and loft!
Thank you for this tutorial. I am a beginner sewer but have managed to make the duvet. I tried to use a trim (some broderie anglais) around the edge, by sewing it to the right side of the bottom sheet. However, when it came to sewing up and turning the duvet the right way round, the trim was hidden on the inside! Please could you let me know where I should have sewn the trim in order for it to have been along the outside of the duvet? Thank you.
Hi Michelle-
If you’d like trim around the edge you need to do it at the very end, after the duvet has been turned right sides out.
Thanks for your question!
Molly
You can pin the trim to the right side of the bottom fabric piece, but the trim has to be facing inwards, not out.
Has anyone tried quilting this, (meandering, stippling or lines). As opposed to the tacking?
I think if you wanted to do any other forms of quilting on it, you would have to make it in a traditional way and not the duvet style of a “pillowcase”. I recently had to finish off a quilt for a friend who made hers like this at a chain store lesson (ahem! Told her to go learn at a p & q shop!). It would not quilt successfully as it would not lay completely flat. I ended up finishing it like this. It was nice and puffy and light.
Hi Sonja-
You’re right! Duvet style quilts work best with intermittent quilting like this.
Thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
So glad to have found this beautiful site! Can’t wait to make some of these!
The store no longer offers the crib sized batting. Can you please list the dimensions needed for the batting?
Hi Kenny!
We do offer the crib size! We might have been out of stock at the time you checked. Feel free to email us at [email protected], and we will be glad to double check to see if we have some! The crib batting is 46″ by 60″.
-Thomas
I was wondering what size dimensions of the materials I would need if I wanted to make this project into a duvet for a twin size bed? My toddle is going to be a big sister soon and I want to make her new bed special… I am a very new to sewing so I want to make sure I order the right amount of material.
Thank you!
Hi Sandra-
Believe it or not there are no universal standards for quilt sizes, but I think a good size for a twin sized quilt is 66″ X 86″. With that in mind, you will have to piece together your fabrics to get pieces that large. Most of the fabric we carry is around 42 inches wide so I think the easiest thing to do would be for each side of the blanket, to cut two 66″ inch lengths of fabric and then piece them together verically to make a piece that is 66″ X 83″. When you have two pieces this size you can just follow the pattern as written. Your finished blanket will 65 X 82 which should be plenty big.
You will need to get:
3 3/4 yards of the front fabric
3 3/4 yards of the back fabric
1 twin sized wool batting
Please let me know if you have any more questions!
Thanks
Molly
Hi .. where might I find the gauze for the duvet, Naomi Ito .. I couldn’t find it on a search .. thank you
Hi Toby-
Unfortunately this fabric is out of print. But we do have other beautiful double gauze prints from Nani Iro that you can see here: https://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/9773-Kokka-Fabrics-Nani-Iro-Double-Gauze-Spring-2015
Thank you!
Molly
I love your Lap quilts. I am on a bit of a budget, and was wondering if anyone made them with cotton fabric top and flannel for the backing. Do you think this combination would work?
Hi Annie-
The great thing about this project is that it’s completely adaptable! Your combination sounds great.
Good luck with the project and thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
I was wandering if there are any full length pictures of the of the lap duvet.
Hi Rubidew-
I’m afraid we don’t have any full length pictures. Is there some more info you’d like? I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about the project!
Best-
Molly
Is the 6/8″ seam allowance supposed to be 5/8″?
Hi Sarah-
Yes, good catch! I have edited the pattern so that it says 5/8″
Thanks for getting in touch and please let us know if you have any more questions!
Molly
Do you think that hand tying the duvet would work?
Thank you!!
Hello Mary,
Thank you for your question. Yes, you could absolutely tie the duvet instead of stitching. That would create a really cute detail. You would just place ties where the pattern tells you to pin and stitch.
Happy quilting!
Allison
Would it be possible to get pattern in French language ? many of us like your web site but we don’t understand all the technical English language for different reasons …
thank you for what you can do for your French fans ! we wish you a good day…
Hi Isadeou-
We really wish we could translate our patterns into French (and lots of other languages as well!) but unfortunately none of us speak good enough enough French to do something like this!
Sorry we can’t be of more help!
Best-
Molly
These blankets look so soft and cuddly that I just have to make one! I’ve never worked with double gauze before – do you pre wash it? Does it shrink much? I’ve already ordered my fabric and now just waiting for it to come!
HI Katie,
Thanks for your question! I always recommend washing fabrics in the way that you hope to wash the final project. Double washes up very well and becomes a bit softer. I generally wash in cold water and did not notice any shrinking. I can’t speak for washing in hot water as I have not tested myself. If you are concerned about hot or warm water, you could cut a small sample of the fabric and wash it to see if it shrinks dramatically.
Happy sewing!
Cassy
Hi
I’ve picked double-gauze for my front/main fabric and wonder if I need to have double-gauze for the back as well, or if I don’t will I run into problems with the difference in the way the fabrics wash? Will pre-washing alleviate this problem?
Also, these are meant as late Summer gifts for when the weather changes from the scorching days to cooler days and evenings, for sitting around the fire.
Thanks!
Deane
Hi Deane-
Pre-washing all of the fabrics will definitely alleviate this problem!
Thanks!
Molly
Hi!
So excited to make this project, but I don’t have a walking foot for my sewing machine. Can I use a sturdier needle and the standard foot?
Thanks!
Jen
Hi Jen,
Great question! A walking foot is a really great thing to have so I would recommend that you get one. However you can probably do this project without one. Just go slowly and make sure the batting and cotton are being pulled through the machine at the same rate.
Happy sewing!
Cassy
I made this using a standard foot. Just sew carefully and go as slowly as you need to, as Cassy said!
Could you tell me the size for a full size bed? T.Y.
Hi Bunny,
Great question! While duvet and bedspread sizes vary greatly depending on how far down you would like the resulting blanket to drape, a full size bed blanket is usually in the range of 96″ x 110″.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy