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DIY Gift-15 minute Fast & Frugal Quillow!

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I’m a big fan of gifts that are easy, inexpensive and thoughtful. Enter…the quillow! When I was a little girl, my grandma made us something like this. She called it a quillow (combo of Quilt and Pillow). Grandma’s was a lot more intense, an actual real quilt +pillow. Mine? Well, we should set the record straight right away. I am no seamstress. I’m great at sewing straight lines, and a self-taught fan of sewing stuff. I’ve sewn pillows, curtains and have mucked my way through 12 years of Halloween costumes for my kids. However, me and sewing patterns do not speak the same lingo. I have no idea how to follow a pattern! And piecing together quilts is WAY out of my ability level. So meet MY version of the quillow. It is more like a blillow (blanket+pillow) or maybe pilanket?

Quillow’s make great gifts. Kids love having their own cuddly blanket, and when you add in the extra-awesomeness of a blanket that can TRANSFORM into a pillow and ALSO has a warm “foot pocket” (as my kids call it) then you have a big hit for kids of all ages! I’ve now made these as gifts for four of my five kids (baby doesn’t need one yet!) and oodles of nieces and nephews. I know this is a gift that keeps being used, because I see my big (teenager!) nephews and nieces using their quillows, yay gifty win! Quillows are good for reading, watching movies, riding in cars or flying in airplanes. They are handy and great! Have I sold you on this idea yet?

How about if I add in how inexpensive these can be to make? If you watch sales on Black Friday, you can usually find the perfect cozy fleece blankets for $3 or $4. For real! And if you are really on a budget, you can buy the flannel for the quillow pocket  impossibly cheap at JoAnn’s on Black Friday (although let me tell you those lines to get your fabric cut are KIL-LER! The amount of flannel you need is small, (between 1/4 to 1/2 a yard) so it’s not too expensive at full price anyhow.

Enough talk, let’s DIY!

How to do it:

Supplies: You need a sewing machine, a blanket, and cute flannel. You’ll want to have enough fabric to make a pocket about 1/3 of the size of the short side of the blanket.  For this blanket I used 1/3 of a yard. Which actually was probably a bit too small for the thickness of the blanket. Ha! But it still worked, just made for a tight fold up (check out the picture at the end).

Supplies for a DIY quillow

 

Step One: Fold your flannel in half, wrong side out.

quillow step 1

Step Two: Sew around the flannel, leaving a small opening so you can turn it right side out. I used a straight stitch. Next, turn the flannel pocket right side out.

Quillow step 2

Step Three: Position the flannel in the middle third of the blanket at the bottom, with the opening you used to turn the fabric inside out on the blanket. Pin it to the blanket with the opening tucked in. Sew all around the half of the flannel that is pinned to the blanket. I used a criss-cross stitch to make this durable. Now, pretend that I sewed that bottom line real straight and pretty-like.Quillow step 3

Step Four: Fold the flannel up, then sew down the two sides to form a pocket with the opening at the top.

Quillow Step 4

Step Five: You are done with all of the sewing! That’s it! Woohoo! Now all you have to do is fold it up.

How to fold a quillow

 

Ta-Da! Quillow! I mean, Planket! I mean Blillow!

Cost

I spent around $5 per quillow (shopping black friday sales!). I would say normal prices would put you around $15, depending on the blanket and fabric choice.

I found this blanket on Amazon (right now $13.99, but the price could change!) and super cute Mickey and Minnie flannel that would coordinate perfectly. ($6.48 a yard, so if we go for 1/2 a yard that would be $3.24).

Who this gift is good for: 

Toddlers (my 3-year-old loves his!), kids, teenagers!

Non-DIY option

Because, life is busy! If you like this gift idea but don’t have the time or desire to make it, you can buy one here on Etsy (and they are even personalized, and with a handle!)

Add something extra!

When I gifted these quillows I added a stuffed animal and a book that I thought each kid would enjoy, so adorable! How about this so so cute Llama Llama book and Llama Llama stuffed animal.

Are you going to try it? I’d love to see how yours turn out!

The Gifty Girl

 

diy transforming blanket/pillow

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Gift ideas for kids who love to read! - The Gifty Girl

Saturday 3rd of December 2016

[…] can get super soft blankets for $10 or $15 at Costco or if you are feeling crafty you can follow my DIY Quillow blanket instructions.  This Sherpa/fleece throw has amazing reviews and is […]

Allison

Monday 28th of November 2016

Our kids love theirs that you made them!

The Gifty Girl

Monday 28th of November 2016

I'm so glad Allison! I hope they got the soft blankets...the year I made Jackson's had crappy blankets! After a few washes his is kind of hard and no where near as soft as the other kids! I think I will make him a new one soon! :)

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