Hi everyone, my name is Alyona, and if you are here, you are probably curious about working with felt and creating those cute little plushies that somehow steal your heart before you even finish them. 🧸
By the end of this article, you will know exactly where to use the blanket stitch and, most importantly, how to sew it step by step without turning your thread into a dramatic spaghetti situation.
And yes – if you want to explore all the other stitches that exist for felt crafting, have a look at The Best Stitch Types for Decorative Felt Designs. I explain all of them there properly. But today? We are focusing only on the blanket stitch.
Where to Use the Blanket Stitch
Usually, you use the blanket stitch when you sew together two elements. For example, if you are creating a nice little cute rabbit, this rabbit has a body, head and other parts, so you cut the elements separately from Soft Felt. Then you place two elements together and sew these elements around by using a blanket stitch.
Only when you finish sewing around do the two elements become one. After that, you can start stuffing and pre-building your creation. So most of the time, you will use the blanket stitch simply to stitch two elements together. That is the main purpose of this stitch.
How to Sew the Blanket Stitch – Step by Step
Now let’s talk about how exactly you are doing this and what steps you need to follow.
Start with your thread already knotted. When you place the two felt pieces together, make sure that the knot sits hidden between the layers so it will not be visible from the outside. Bring your needle out near the edge.
Then drape the working thread over your index finger so it forms a small loop, like a ring that you can control with your finger. From the front side, push the needle straight through both felt layers, heading toward the edge so the needle comes out close to the border.
The important part is that as the needle comes out, it must come out inside the loop you are holding on your index finger. Pull the needle all the way through the loop and gently tighten it. This locks the stitch and creates that neat blanket edge.
For the next stitch, repeat exactly the same rhythm. Lay the thread over your index finger to form the loop. Then push the needle through both layers from the front side. And bring it out near the edge, making sure the tip exits inside the loop. Then pull through and tighten so the stitch sits snug, but not so tight that it puckers the felt.
A little trick:
Keep repeating this motion all the way around, aiming to keep the stitches the same size. A small trick that helps is to use your index finger as a measuring guide. You can make few tiny reference marks, for spacing. Each time you push the needle through, line it up with the same point against those marks. This way your spacing stays consistent, and every stitch looks identical.
If you love sewing plushies, you can grab my free beginner friendly pattern, and start practising your stitches straight away 💪🧸🧵.
Final Thoughts
So now you know where to use the blanket stitch and how to sew it step by step. However, whenever you are using any type of stitch, you also need to know what is the best thread to use.
If you want to learn more about that, you can read What is the best threads to sew felt.
Thank you for reading.
