The grand finale of beach week is this SUPER EASY beach blanket. (This literally takes 45 minutes. I timed it. That was with Charlotte "helping".) So, I love going to the beach, and now that we have Charlotte an umbrella is essential. However, the umbrella is always on the outside of the blanket, shading half the blanket and half the beach...and I can never get the umbrella to stay up really well. This is my solution! A blanket with a hole in the middle, just for the umbrella:) Here is how I did it. You will need a twin-sized store-bought, cotton quilt (if your family is more than 3 people, I would suggest buying a queen or king sized quilt).
I bought this one at TJMaxx for $20.
You will need a pack of grommets like these
(no tool required). 
A pair of scissors, a pencil, a piece of string, and a sewing machine.
Lay the quilt flat on the ground. Fold the quilt in half from bottom to top, like this.
Then fold it from right to left, like this. 
Tie a long piece of string around a pencil. Hold the end of the string down at the corner fold and stretch it taut (you are basically making your own compass). 
Draw a curved line from the left bottom corner all the way up to the top right corner, keep your string really taut. It should look like a quarter of a circle. Cut along the line you just drew. 
Now, leave it folded and take the grommet template and draw a quarter of it in the folded corner of your circle, like this. 
Cut that out-this will be the hole in the center of your blanket. Open the blanket. Follow the directions on the package and snap the grommet in place. 
Last step- using your sewing machine, blanket stitch or zig-zag stitch all around the edge of the circle.
That's it! You have a fully shaded blanket for fun beach times!
Hope you've enjoyed Beach Week as much as I have! Have a lovely weekend.
jessica
I bought this one at TJMaxx for $20.
You will need a pack of grommets like these (no tool required). 
A pair of scissors, a pencil, a piece of string, and a sewing machine.Lay the quilt flat on the ground. Fold the quilt in half from bottom to top, like this.
Then fold it from right to left, like this. 
Tie a long piece of string around a pencil. Hold the end of the string down at the corner fold and stretch it taut (you are basically making your own compass). 
Draw a curved line from the left bottom corner all the way up to the top right corner, keep your string really taut. It should look like a quarter of a circle. Cut along the line you just drew. 
Now, leave it folded and take the grommet template and draw a quarter of it in the folded corner of your circle, like this. 
Cut that out-this will be the hole in the center of your blanket. Open the blanket. Follow the directions on the package and snap the grommet in place. 
Last step- using your sewing machine, blanket stitch or zig-zag stitch all around the edge of the circle.
That's it! You have a fully shaded blanket for fun beach times!
Hope you've enjoyed Beach Week as much as I have! Have a lovely weekend.
jessica
I can't wait to try this out! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a cute beach blanket!! Thanks for the tutorial. I included this in my 93 Ultimate Beach Essentials list. You can find it here http://www.chewymom.com/ultimate-beach-essentials/
ReplyDelete