Faux Cathedral Window

Flannel baby blanket and burp cloth

        My babies always loved to be wrapped up tight to sleep.  Once they got to be a couple of months old, I had a hard time wrapping them up in the small receiving blankets you can buy in stores.  It felt like I was trying to wrap a present without a large enough piece of wrapping paper.  No matter how much I tried to creatively wrap, I just needed a larger blanket.  Luckily, making them isn't hard and then I was able to have blankets that were large enough to easily wrap a baby in.  We called the babies wrapped up "our little burritos". 
     Over the years, I have come to love making baby blankets.  They are small and easy to make.  There isn't a lot of bulk that you have to shift around while trying to sew.  The blankets can be quickly made- some in as short as a couple of hours including cutting time.  Other baby blankets can take a couple of days. 
   This is a faux cathedral window pattern made into a 2 layer flannel receiving blanket.  It's one that takes a couple of days and lots and lots of pins.  And when I'm done, I look like I've been holed up in a tiny closet with an angry cat because of all of the scratches from pins that cover my arms.  Sound like fun?  I know you're dying to make it now!  :) 
    With a small baby flannel blanket, it actually isn't too bad.  I had far more scratches on my arms after making a faux cathedral blanket in denim with batting, especially since that one is bigger and heavier.  I thought it would make a nice outdoor picnic blanket.  And it does....if you don't mind hauling a 50 pound blanket to the picnic site.  No, it isn't quite THAT heavy, but it feels like it after carrying it around!  It makes a nice 4th of July Fireworks quilt.  Which is pretty much the only time it gets used due to its weight.  But hey, the nice thing is that the wind doesn't blow it around!  It stays put unlike other blankets!  This blanket is a "joke" in our family.  I used denim jeans that I had saved for over a decade (that my husband asked me to throw away many, many times).  Then the blanket took me about two years to finish.  It was very heavy and bulky and awkward to sew.  Not to mention that the scratches on my arms needed time to heal in between sessions working on it!  But it is done.  In comparison, the flannel baby blanket is a breeze.

This blanket is sewn by cutting out circles.  Lots and lots of circles.  I used a large lid and traced the circles onto the fabric and then I hand cut them out.  After that, you have to trace the largest square that will fit inside the circle onto the fabric, in each circle.  The easiest way to find the largest square is to fold each circle in half and mark both half points at the crease edges.  Then fold it in half the other way, matching the marks together and mark the opposite ends of each crease.  Connect the markings and you have the square.  Measure the square and create a template.  Then trace it onto each circle.  Those are going to be your sewing lines, and the shape/size to cut your inside window fabric. 

     Another fun thing about the faux cathedral is that you can choose to have scalloped or straight edges.  If you want straight, just keep folding the outer edges in and stitch them down as you do the rest of the quilt.  If you want scalloped edges, you'll need to cut out extra elongated football shapes to lay on top of the bottom fabric- then sew as usual.  This isn't meant to be a tutorial- just helpful little tidbits of information/pictures in case anyone else wants to attempt one using the tutorials out there on the web.  I used one for the denim quilt, but I couldn't find it again. This was before Pinterest...  If you have questions, you could always message me or leave a comment, and I will try to help you. 

This is how it would have looked with a straight edge.  I prefer the scalloped edge.   

 This is one row of circles sewn together- it is sewn along parallel lines from the squares.

 Sewing line

Two rows sewn together- along opposite parallel lines.  You sometimes have to sew off the marked line- it is important to make sure you are sewing along the end of the perpendicular seam lines, kind of connecting them.  You don't want the first seam to end and then have a space before the seam along the adjacent edge. 

All of the back is sewn together.  Now I am placing the middle square of fabric in the center of each circle and pinning the circle's flapping edges down onto that middle square fabric. If you want to use batting, you place it behind this square of fabric.