When I first started quilting I was warned off flannel. I was told not to try anything fancy (i.e. anything other than squares) with it. I was also warned to be super careful about getting the grain right because it stretches badly. And finally, I was told to wash it first because it would shrink and if that happened after I made my quilt it would be a disaster.

Well I’m happy to report that, being an extreme newbie at the time, I tried to adhere to this advice , failed and made a quilt/blanket in spite of it.

A flannel, QAYG pinwheel quilted blanket

First, I don’t like making extra work so I didn’t pre-wash it. Second, I did start out with squares, making four patches. However, when I laid it out I found I didn’t like the pattern so, throwing caution to the wind, I flouted the other two rules. I sewed my four patch squares together around the four edges, face-to-face. Then I cut them across both diagonals and reassembled them into pinwheels.

Once I had assembled the new pinwheel squares I decided to make a quilted blanket. So I bought some polar fleece, cut it into the same size squares and quilted them in the ditch. Then I assembled the whole top the way a raggy quilt is except I put the raggy seams on the back because I wanted the front to be smooth. And then, I washed it and dried it in the dryer. It didn’t shrink.

Personally, I’m happy with it. It’s one of my favourites and it’s very snuggly on a cold day. Anyway here is the blanket. What do you think?