Advice on a minky (minkee) blanket/throw

[Dee5]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to make an adult sized minky blanket. The minky I have is
double-sided and extremely soft on both sides, however it is only 36"
wide. I obviously want to make it wider, but how would I do this?

Considering it is double sided it is already thick enough and I do not
want to add backing to hide the seam that would connect multiple 36"
pieces together as it would become quite bulky (not to mention waste
the perfectly soft backside of the minky).

Basically I don't want the ugly seam to show....what are my options? I
know this is probably a shot in the dark, but I figure there are
probably a few creative minds out there who might have some stitching
techniques or other ideas to help me out.

Thank you for any ideas or suggestions!
Dee

[Georg]

Dee5 wrote:
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I am looking to make an adult sized minky blanket. The minky I have is
> double-sided and extremely soft on both sides, however it is only 36"
> wide. I obviously want to make it wider, but how would I do this?
>
> Considering it is double sided it is already thick enough and I do not
> want to add backing to hide the seam that would connect multiple 36"
> pieces together as it would become quite bulky (not to mention waste
> the perfectly soft backside of the minky).
>
> Basically I don't want the ugly seam to show....what are my options? I
> know this is probably a shot in the dark, but I figure there are
> probably a few creative minds out there who might have some stitching
> techniques or other ideas to help me out.
>
> Thank you for any ideas or suggestions!
> Dee
>

Try flat-felled seams. Let me see if I can explain this okay, but I mean
like the outside seam of your jeans. Sew a 5/8" seam. Cut one side of
the fabric to 1/2" to 1/4", to eliminate bulk. Roll the 5/8" side over
the top of the cut piece. Stitch this down so it lies flat on the opened
fabric. No rough edges should be visible. Nothing but softness for you,
and a slightly thicker area where you have a seam.

Consider putting a 36" square on point and finishing with triangles to
make a square. If the resulting square is big enough for a blanket, that
would be great! I suggest this to avoid a seam down the center which may
be less pleasant.

-georg

[Patti]

You didn't say how much of this you had?
If you have say 4yds, you could cut it in half, then put two yards
beside two yards, making a 72" square.
To join the two halves, I would suggest you do it as follows, to avoid a
seam at all:
Place the two pieces side by side, as I said, then sew a 1" (or 1.5 or
2" - up to you) strip of binding over the join on the front and the
back. If you made one strip slightly wider than the other you could
even do the sewing in one go and be sure that, by sewing from the
narrower side through to the wider side, all the stitching was within
the joining strips. If you wanted to make a co-ordinated piece, you
could put binding of the same fabric around all the edges.
..
In message om>, Dee5
> writes
>Hello Everyone,
>
>I am looking to make an adult sized minky blanket. The minky I have is
>double-sided and extremely soft on both sides, however it is only 36"
>wide. I obviously want to make it wider, but how would I do this?
>
>Considering it is double sided it is already thick enough and I do not
>want to add backing to hide the seam that would connect multiple 36"
>pieces together as it would become quite bulky (not to mention waste
>the perfectly soft backside of the minky).
>
>Basically I don't want the ugly seam to show....what are my options? I
>know this is probably a shot in the dark, but I figure there are
>probably a few creative minds out there who might have some stitching
>techniques or other ideas to help me out.
>
>Thank you for any ideas or suggestions!
>Dee
>

--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

[Polly Esther]

Georg's suggestion of a flat felled seam is a good one. Furthermore - you
might want to see if Minkee has a 'nap'. Dee, I don't know what your sewing
experience is - but by nap, I mean that the Minkee might look lighter in one
direction and darker in the other. The easiest (and right silly-looking)
way to tell is to toss the fabric length around your neck so that the ends
hang down your front. Go look in the mirror and see if there's a color
change. Run you hand over the Minkee and see if it feels smoother in one
direction and marks or fluffs in the other. Is anybody following me? Okay.
Crazy time over. If you decide that Minkee does have a nap, you'll want to
seam it so that your pieces are put together so that all pieces have the nap
running the same way. If I left you only confused, we can talk about this
more. Polly




"Georg" > wrote in message
...
> Dee5 wrote:
>> Hello Everyone,
>>
>> I am looking to make an adult sized minky blanket. The minky I have is
>> double-sided and extremely soft on both sides, however it is only 36"
>> wide. I obviously want to make it wider, but how would I do this?
>>
>> Considering it is double sided it is already thick enough and I do not
>> want to add backing to hide the seam that would connect multiple 36"
>> pieces together as it would become quite bulky (not to mention waste
>> the perfectly soft backside of the minky).
>>
>> Basically I don't want the ugly seam to show....what are my options? I
>> know this is probably a shot in the dark, but I figure there are
>> probably a few creative minds out there who might have some stitching
>> techniques or other ideas to help me out.
>>
>> Thank you for any ideas or suggestions!
>> Dee
>>
>
> Try flat-felled seams. Let me see if I can explain this okay, but I mean
> like the outside seam of your jeans. Sew a 5/8" seam. Cut one side of the
> fabric to 1/2" to 1/4", to eliminate bulk. Roll the 5/8" side over the top
> of the cut piece. Stitch this down so it lies flat on the opened fabric.
> No rough edges should be visible. Nothing but softness for you, and a
> slightly thicker area where you have a seam.
>
> Consider putting a 36" square on point and finishing with triangles to
> make a square. If the resulting square is big enough for a blanket, that
> would be great! I suggest this to avoid a seam down the center which may
> be less pleasant.
>
> -georg

[Pat in Virginia]

Along with Polly's Nap Advice ...
texture, not siesta ... I'd like to
mention the sizes. The blanket will look
and feel nicer if you do three panels
instead of two. Do a wide middle panel
with a narrow panel on each side.
PAT

Polly Esther wrote:

> Georg's suggestion of a flat felled seam is a good one. Furthermore - you
> might want to see if Minkee has a 'nap'.
>
> "Georg" > wrote in message
> ...

>>Try flat-felled seams. Let me see if I can explain this okay, but I mean
>>like the outside seam of your jeans. Sew a 5/8" seam. Cut one side of the
>>fabric to 1/2" to 1/4", to eliminate bulk. Roll the 5/8" side over the top
>>of the cut piece. Stitch this down so it lies flat on the opened fabric.
>>No rough edges should be visible. Nothing but softness for you, and a
>>slightly thicker area where you have a seam.
>>
>>Consider putting a 36" square on point and finishing with triangles to
>>make a square. If the resulting square is big enough for a blanket, that
>>would be great! I suggest this to avoid a seam down the center which may
>>be less pleasant.
>>
>>-georg
>
>
>

[Roberta Zollner]

Before you delve into flat-felled seams, try a little experiment with 2
scraps of Minkee. Make sure the edges are nice and straight and butt them
together so they touch firmly but don't overlap. With matching thread top
and bottom, sew together using your machine's feather stitch (if you have
one) or 3-stitch zigzag. After sewing, take the piece and give it a good
tug. If the results please you, this is by far the simplest joining method.

I once pieced several baby blankets out of fleece scraps using this method
and the feather stitch. The stitches sank into the fleece and were almost
invisible, and the seam was tight and stable with no gaps.

I second the recommendation to do it in 3 panels: the center of the blanlet
will probably take the most stress, and you don't want a seam in that spot.

But what I would actually do is go out and buy some 60" wide fabric and use
the other for something smaller!
Roberta in D

"Dee5" > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
ups.com...
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I am looking to make an adult sized minky blanket. The minky I have is
> double-sided and extremely soft on both sides, however it is only 36"
> wide. I obviously want to make it wider, but how would I do this?
>
> Considering it is double sided it is already thick enough and I do not
> want to add backing to hide the seam that would connect multiple 36"
> pieces together as it would become quite bulky (not to mention waste
> the perfectly soft backside of the minky).
>
> Basically I don't want the ugly seam to show....what are my options? I
> know this is probably a shot in the dark, but I figure there are
> probably a few creative minds out there who might have some stitching
> techniques or other ideas to help me out.
>
> Thank you for any ideas or suggestions!
> Dee
>

[Jane Kay]

I was just looking at an article in an old Threads Magazine. they made a
patchwork shirt out of shear fabrics connected by sashing so it was finished
on both sides and had a stained glass effect.
1 Lay out your fabric in a colorblock design - all straight seams and large
pieces.
2 Choose your sashing. (I think Minkie is stretchy so I would do a thin
double-knit or maybe cotton cut on the bias.)
3 Cut 1 strip for each edge to be joined (2 pieces for each seam).
4 Sew the 2 strips together, right sides facing. Iron the seam open so that
the wrong sides of each strip are together.
5 Apply one side to one piece of minkie and the other side to the adjoining
piece of minkie like bias tape. Ta Da! joined & finished on both sides.

My thoughts
I think it would be stronger if you used double strips of bias like you bind
a quilt with & iron the seam into the open sides to make it easier to find
where the stitching should be- Minkie weighs a lot more than sheer voile.

Jane in NE Ohio

"Dee5" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I am looking to make an adult sized minky blanket. The minky I have is
> double-sided and extremely soft on both sides, however it is only 36"
> wide. I obviously want to make it wider, but how would I do this?
>
> Considering it is double sided it is already thick enough and I do not
> want to add backing to hide the seam that would connect multiple 36"
> pieces together as it would become quite bulky (not to mention waste
> the perfectly soft backside of the minky).
>
> Basically I don't want the ugly seam to show....what are my options? I
> know this is probably a shot in the dark, but I figure there are
> probably a few creative minds out there who might have some stitching
> techniques or other ideas to help me out.
>
> Thank you for any ideas or suggestions!
> Dee
>