here come the elephants! next up, Baby M.

I've been looking forward to making a blanket for our friends since they day she announced their pregnancy, and when nursery pictures popped up on her blog, I used the color inspiration to find fabric online. The paisley print is my own obsession but also compliments one of the fabrics they used for nursery decor, and the chevron compliments the angles of the bunting featured in the nursery. I added rows of elephants and giraffes to lend to the infantile quality of the blanket, and also because as a couple they have a huge heart for Africa. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I purchased more fabric than I needed because I wasn't sure if I would be able to use all the rows of animals. As it turns out, it was cut in such a way that I was unable to use several rows. I'm not sure who would cut through the middle of a row of elephants on both the top and bottom of a piece of fabric rather than shift to include only whole elephants.

So there are fewer animals than anticipated in the final design, but I have enough fabric to make the blanket large enough to cover a full sized crib. Babies of course aren't supposed to use blankets in the crib, but cribs often turn into toddler beds, and in the meantime it's a decent size for a play mat.


I also had enough extra fabric to make a big floppy tote bag. The bottom is reinforced with stiff interfacing and foam, and the sides are covered in generous pockets.