How to make a quick and easy flannel puppy blanket

Materials: Flannel sheet or yardage, sewing machine and supplies

Here’s a great thing about puppies; they don’t care about straight seams, colors, patterns. This is a great way to use up odd pieces of flannel that you have stored in tubs in the garage or under the bed. I often pick up flannel yardage at thrift stores to use inside doll blankets or lightweight quilts, so I almost always have flannel that can be used up without hesitation.

A week ago, we went to pick up our 8 week old Great Pyrenees puppy and a littermate for our friends. I made a doggy blanket out of a scrap of flannel to take along, to get his brother’s scent to take home with us.

I had an hour before we were to leave on this adventure so I rushed out to the sewing room, and whipped up a blanket out of a cheap plaid flannel.

This is more of a template than a pattern, because the size of blanket doesn’t have to be specific, or even square. I sewed the piece of flannel that I had without squaring up the edges, like I would do if I were making a quilt.

My piece of flannel was roughly 30x40 when doubled.

1. With right sides together, sew around all 4 sides with a 5/8”-3/4” seam allowance, leaving about 5” open on one side.

2. Turn right side out without trimming corners. The corners will be bulky, but you aren’t giving this to a newborn baby.

3. Press, turning under the opening edges. The pressing step is for you, and makes the topstitching easier.

4. Stitch 1/4” from edge, all the way around with a 2.5-3 stitch setting, making sure to stitch securely the opening that you turned under.

5. Straight stitch or zigzag 1” from the edge. You want the edge nice and firm. Puppies like to chew, and having that extra fabric inside that I told you not to trim, gives them more to chew on.

If you are upcycling a flannel sheet, it already has the raw , stringy edges hemmed. You can just fold it, make a couple of rows of stitching 1/2” and 1” from the edge and you are done! If it’s king-size, you could fold it twice, and stitch. It will most likely be destroyed during puppy’s growing stages with their little shark teeth and nails, so keep it simple! Our puppy loves to chew on the edge of the flannel blanket, bunching it up to soothe the pain from teething.
This is also a great opportunity to use up odd thread colors left on bobbins or ends of spools.

Let me know if you make your puppy a flannel blanket by leaving a comment below. And tag me on social media #prairiewomanartsdiy so I can see your puppy and his new blanket!