My boyfriend has been subtly hinting for a while now that he wants a blanket. But that was never going to happen. That is until Valentine’s Day came around and I needed a present for him.  It ended up being a really fun project and I am really happy with it. Since he is a guitar player, I went with the guitar theme and sewed a large guitar onto the front of the blanket. I used flannel for both pieces and fleece for the back.Here is the secret to making this all work: appliqué. I think this is going to be the beginning of many more projects like this one. Seriously, my new favorite thing. It’s easy to use and you can iron together almost any type of fabric. IRON TOGETHER ANYTHING. Think of the things that will end up on my t-shirts. Do you think it would work for pockets?

Or maybe the more practical things like quick hemming or fixing a rip.

With the help of my cousin, Emma, I drew out the guitar on newspaper and used it as a pattern for the fabric. If you have butcher paper or tracing paper I highly suggest you use that instead. Newspaper is cheap and readily available but it is hard to see when you draw.

From there, you add appliqué to the back and iron it onto the large piece of fabric for the front of the blanket. I did a zig-zag stitch around the outside edge to keep all the edges smooth and give it a finished look. The thing that took this blanket to another level was the detail.

I love the detail on this. It worked out so perfectly and I didn’t even have to take out and re-do a section of it. (That’s big for me.)

After using appliqué I have a few tips and suggestions for making your life easier:

• As long as you are sewing around the outside edge it’s not as important to cover an entire piece of large fabric. Strips might be enough.
• If you are cutting out small details iron the appliqué on first and then cut. It will make it easier to cut out with the paper backing.

• If you have cut your fabric first, don’t try to also cut the appliqué paper the same size as the fabric. Use wax paper on your ironing board because the appliqué will not meld to the paper and you can peel it off.
• Your fabric will seem stiff at first but it should soften up after washing it.