Cozy Sherpa Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

I recently learned a new Spanish verb: acurrucar. It’s in a Spanish childrens song that we sometimes sing to my daughter, and when I asked my husband (the resident Spanish speaker) what it meant, he paused and said, “Just what it sounds like… to be all snuggled up.” What a great word!

Cozy Sherpa Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

This winter its my goal to be as snuggled up as possible which is where my new Organic Cotton Sherpa Lap Duvet comes in! Organic Cotton Sherpa is a beautiful thing to hold and to behold. Its soft, lofty, and toasty warm, like a layer of cotton balls or a blanket of billowy cloud.

Cozy Sherpa Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

To double down on Sherpas innate coziness I used it on both sides with a layer of plush wool batting in-between. And for fun I sewed it all together with seven vertical rows of bright red tacking stitches. The finished blanket is so cuddly and warm, like a portable heater. Perfect if you want acurrucar! –Molly

Materials

Cozy Sherpa Lap Duvet | Purl Soho

  • 3  yards of Michael Millers Organic Sherpa, 100%
  • 1 crib size Wool Batting
  • 1 small spool of 100% cotton thread in color 1040. This is the Matching Thread.
  • 1 small spool of 100% cotton thread in color 4880. This is the Contrast Thread.
  • A Water Soluble Fabric Marker
  • Curved Safety Pins

Size

42 inches wide by 48 inches long

Notes

Before beginning this project, pre-shrink the Sherpa by machine washing and drying it on a regular cycle. Do not wash the batting.

You will be using your machine’s walking foot for all of the sewing in this pattern.

Pattern

Cutting and Sewing Together

Cut the Sherpa into two 50-inch long pieces. Do not cut off the selvages. Each piece will be 44 inches wide by 50 inches long.

Lay one of the Sherpa pieces down on a flat clean surface with its right side (the fuzzy side) facing up. Smooth it flat so there are no wrinkles and then lay the second piece, right side facing down, on top of the first. Make sure the pieces are exactly the same size; trim one down if necessary.

Lay the Wool Batting on top of the two Sherpa pieces and cut it to match the Sherpa pieces.

Pin all three layers together around all four sides. This is your quilt sandwich.

With the Sherpa side of the quilt sandwich facing up, use the Matching Thread to stitch the three layers together. With a 1-inch seam allowance, sew around all four sides, leaving a 6-inch gap in the middle of one of the sides. Back stitch at the beginning and end of this seam.

Quilting

Turn the duvet right sides out through the gap. The right sides of the Sherpa are now on the outside and the Wool Batting is encased within. Pin the 6-inch gap closed and using the Matching Thread, hand stitch it shut with a blind stitch.

 
Lay the duvet down on a flat surface. Make sure it is lying perfectly flat. Orient it so that the longer edges are the left and right hand sides and the shorter edges are the top and bottom sides.Using an Erasable Fabric Marker, draw a vertical line 3 inches in from the left side.  Starting from the top side, make a mark every 3 inches down this vertical line. Place a Curved Safety Pin at each of these marks, making sure to pin through all three layers of the duvet.

Make a second vertical line 6 inches from the first vertical line. Mark and pin it in the same way.

Keep marking and pinning the duvet at 6-inch intervals until you have seven equidistant vertical lines, pinned every 3 inches.

Using the Contrast Thread and a, short, wide zig-zag stitch, sew approximately 3/8 of an inch forward, backward, and then forward again at each pinned point (removing the pin before you sew that point). This will create a solid little block of color. Do this at every pinned point along the marked vertical lines.

Clip the Contrast Thread on both sides of the duvet and spray the marked lines to make them disappear. You’re all done!

Update 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions!