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Hi I’m Pauline, this blog is where I share all the latest Funky Friends Factory News, Giveaways, Competitions plus LOTS of toy-making tips & tutorials to help you sew the cutest soft toys EVER!

Turn a baby receiving blanket into a cute custom toy keepsake!

Sep 10, 2024 | Blog, Toy-making TIPS & TUTORIALS

Hospital receiving blankets and newborn hats are popular momentos, but with a Funky Friends Factory pattern you can take the baby blanket out of storage and turn it into a fantastic gift for new parents or a baby’s first birthday. Add birth stats and it makes great shelf decor for a nursery. Whether you’ve got a blanket with the popular pink and blue stripe design or a more multi-colored version, you’re sure to find inspiration for how to place the fabric and which patterns to use in the photos below. These toys range from ducklings to dinosaurs, to unicorns, bears, butterflies and even a moose, wolf, fox and hippo! 

Let’s take a look…

 

Delightful Ducks sewn from blankets!

This duck-patterned baby blanket fabric is perfect for the Dilby Duck pattern! This delightful duo was sewn for twins by Andrea Lynne Horn. She enlarged the pattern to 120% and embroidered birth stats on the bottom of the feet.

 

And this Dilby Duck was sewn by was sewn by Tina Jesee. I love the little bow she added. 🎀 The bow, bill and feet are made from the hospital newborn hat.

HERE to purchase the Duck pattern.

 

Sew something MAGICAL from a hospital receiving blanket!

Kelsey Keepsake Unicorns sewn by Jessica Butler. 💗💗

 

Lindsey Mortimer sewed this Kelsey Keepsake Unicorn as a weighted toy keepsake. She added weight to be the same as the baby’s birth weight. 

Click HERE to buy the Keepsake Unicorn pattern.

 

Beautiful Bunnies sewn from blankets!

These adorable Easter Bunny Buddies were sewn by Angie Woods… 

 

… and here is one of the happy recipients!

 

AND this upcycled Easter Bunny Buddy was sewn by Lindsey Mortimer from a bunny throw! 

 

This adorable Easter Bunny Buddy was sewn by Jaclynn England from her daughter’s receiving blanket! The No-seam tummy on this pattern makes it great for adding birth stats.

Click HERE to buy the Easter Bunny sewing pattern.

 

 

Some WILDLY popular toys to sew from blankets!

This sweet Fifi Fox was sewn by Pamela Beverley Cutchin. She has embroidered the eyes to make this fox toy completely baby-safe. The baby’s name fits on the tummy area and the birth stats are on the feet. Check all the pieces of the pattern for an area to fit embroidery…not just the tummy!

Click HERE to buy the Fox Pattern

 

 

This cute Heather Hippo was sewn by Tina Jesee. I think those eyelashes give this hefty animal such a sweet, delicate look!  The bow, ears, and feet were made from the newborn hat and the toy from the hospital receiving blanket.

Click HERE to buy the HIPPO pattern.

 

Larry Lion is one of my most popular toy patterns for a baby toy and for a baby keepsake!. Here you can see Natalie Booysen, of Handmade by Natalie, has used a receiving blanket to sew this ROARSOME  baby keepsake!

 

This sweet Larry Lion was sewn by Olga Romero.

Click HERE to buy the LION pattern.

 

 

This  adorable baby Ellie Elephant was sewn by Dawn Rimby from a very pretty receiving blanket.

Click HERE to buy the Elephant pattern.

 

 

This  pretty Belinda Butterfly was sewn by Tamara Szeluga from a combination of some baby clothes and a receiving blanket.

 

She also sewed this pretty purple Belinda Butterfly  from a combination of some baby clothes and a receiving blanket.

Click HERE to buy the Butterfly Sewing Pattern

 

 

Cute Cats & Dogs sewn from baby blankets! 🐱🐶

This dainty Digger Dachshund dog was sewn by Lesley Ables Browning from a hospital receiving blanket..

Click HERE to buy the Dachshund pattern.

 

 

This cute kitty was sewn by a keepsake maker who used the Patch Pussycat Pattern to turn a grandma’s favorite blanket into her favorite animal! Unfortunately I can’t add a link to refer you to her business because she is not crediting Funky Friends Factory patterns. 

Click HERE to buy the Cat Sewing pattern.

 

She also sewed this brightly colored Butch Bulldog out of a hospital receiving blanket. 

Click HERE to buy the Bulldog pattern.

 

 

This cute Puppy Dog Pete was sewn by Diana Sageser using her grandson’s receiving blanket.

Click HERE to buy the Puppy Dog pattern.

Puppy Dog Sewing Pattern

 

 

Teddy bear patterns are perfect for a baby keepsake!🧸

This is Honey Teddy sewn out of a NICU receiving blanket by Janice Darling. Honey Teddy is almost as big as this tiny baby!

Looking for a FREE easy teddy bear pattern?

Honey Teddy Bear is a free pattern that I give to my newsletter subscribers as a thank you gift. If you haven’t got the pattern already – scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up for my newsletter!

Meet - Introducing FREE Teddy Bear Pattern

 

 

Susan Weaver sewed Melody Memory Bear from her daughter’s baby blanket – I love the big spots!

 

 

This cute Melody Memory Bear was sewn by a keepsake maker out of hospital receiving blankets. Unfortunately I can’t add a link to refer you to her business because she is not crediting Funky Friends Factory patterns.

Click HERE to buy the Melody Memory Bear Pattern.

 

 

This sweet Ben BEGINNER Bear was sewn by Diana Sageser for her step-daughter. If you are looking for a single-piece tummy for embroidery or a onesie design, the Ben Beginner Bear is the bear for you! (You can compare all the bear patterns HERE!)

Click HERE to buy the BEGINNER Bear pattern.

 

 

Calico Bear is a popular “classic teddy bear” for baby keepsakes. Jessica Butler sewed this perfect pair of pink and blue Calico Signature Bears from receiving blankets and embroidered the birth stats on them too. 

 

And this cute Calico Signature Bear was sewn by Dawn Rimby… what a sweet face! 

Click HERE to buy the Signature Bear pattern.

 

 

This cute Keep Me Keepsake Bear was sewn from a baby’s first blanket by a keepsake maker out of hospital receiving blankets. Unfortunately I can’t add a link to refer you to her business because she is not crediting Funky Friends Factory patterns.

 

She also sewed these cute Keep Me Keepsake Bears was sewn by a keepsake maker out of hospital receiving blankets. 

 

AND she sewed this perfect pair of Keep Me Keepsake Bears was sewn by the same maker as above – also from a receiving blanket!

Click HERE to purchase the Keepsake Bear pattern.

 

Some unusual baby blanket keepsake toys!

Look how cute Mickey Moose looks made from a receiving blanket! This magical Moose was sewn by Karrol Mayfield.

Click HERE to buy the Moose pattern.

 

 

This is probably the very last Funky Friends Factory pattern I thought would ever be sewn for a baby keepsake BUT look how cite the Silly Scrap Snake looks sewn from a receiving baby blanket! This cute Scrap Snake was sewn by Tamara Szeluga

Click HERE to buy the Scrap Snake Sewing Pattern.

 

 

This cute William Whale was sewn from hospital receiving blankets by a keepsake maker. Unfortunately I can’t add a link to refer you to her business because she is not crediting Funky Friends Factory patterns.

Click HERE to buy the Whale pattern.

 

She also sewed this sweet Slowpoke Sloth out of a hospital receiving blanket. 

Click HERE to buy the Sloth pattern.

 

 

And she also sewed this Timmy T-Rex Dinosaur out of a hospital receiving blanket that had a dinosaur print! 

 

This Timmy T-Rex Dinosaur was sewn as a baby blanket keepsake by Barb Olivier-Scarsella. 

Click HERE to buy the T-Rex Dinosaur sewing pattern.

 

 

Tamara Szeluga sewed this Trixie Triceratops out of a hospital receiving blanket! 

Click HERE to buy the Triceratops pattern.

Triceratops Dinosaur sewing pattern

 

 

Heidi Hardy made this Winsome Wolf from a hospital receiving blanket as a baby keepsake. She has used the large flat space on the wolf’s side for embroidery of birth stats.

Click HERE to buy the Wolf pattern.

 

 

A cute Christmas blanket keepsake!

This hospital receiving blanket has been turned into a Christmas keepsake version of Reggie Reindeer by Jo Ann Healy McMahon.🎄🎅

Click HERE to buy the Reindeer pattern.

 

An Australian blanket keepsake!

This cute Platypus was sewn by Pete Smales for a friend’s son’s receiving blanket.

Click HERE to buy the Platypus pattern.

 

 

Want to win a
FREE toy pattern?

 

It’s so EASY to enter the Pattern GIVEAWAY!

 

Facebook badge - Pauline McArthur

ALL you need to do is post a photo of a FUNKY FRIENDS FACTORY toy that you have made on the Funky Friends Factory Facebook Page .

At the end of each month I draw a winner and post the winner’s name on the Blog the following MONTH. I have an Album on Facebook for all the MAKEROFTHEMONTH winners. You can check it out HERE!

 

 

NOT on Facebook? ENTER by email! 😀

*** You can send me your photos by email too!

 

So come on! Share your photos  ~> The next winner could be YOU!


Pauline McArthur - Funky Friends Factory.
Till next time,

Happy Sewing,
Pauline
xxx

3 Comments

  1. J. R. kimbrough

    Loved these toys en toto.

    Reply
  2. Debra Prychun

    Every one of these is adorable and such a clever idea! Of course, all the fabulous patterns make each one of these even more adorable and special.

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Thank you Debra!!! 😄🥰

      Reply

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