How to Sew an Outdoor Blanket – DIY
An outdoor blanket is a highly versatile piece of camping gear for cooler days. It’s perfect for long hours by the campfire, especially when no one is adding more wood.
Required Materials:
Tools:
- Breathable and lightweight nylon. In our case: 10D Nylon – Sicilian Orange and Graphite, 2 pieces (150 cm × 190 cm each)
- Climashield APEX insulation (5 oz/yd², 167 g/m²): 150 cm × 190 cm
- Titanium thread (gray) – 2 spools
- Black webbing – 15 mm (2 strips, 8 cm each)
- LB-LW buckle, ultralight YKK single 15 mm buckle (1 piece)
- Scissors
- Level, board, or long ruler
- Tailor’s chalk
- Pins for joining fabrics
- Home sewing machine
Step 1 – Preparation for Sewing
Also, pin the black webbing straps with the LB-LW buckle attached on one of the longer sides of the blanket (the exact distance between the straps is up to you — we placed them 70 cm apart, meaning 35 cm from the center line of the blanket).
Since the blanket will be sewn inside out, remember to attach the straps with the buckle facing inward, so that once you turn the blanket right side out, the straps and buckle will end up on the outside (see photos for reference).
Step 2 – Joining the Nylon Fabrics
Sew the two pieces of fabric together along the line marked by the pinned pins using a sewing machine. Also stitch the webbing straps in place. In our case, the corners are rounded. To help draw a rounded corner, you can use a piece of cardboard cut to the desired shape and tailor’s chalk.
Note: When sewing along the edges, leave an opening of about 30 cm to turn the fabric right side out.
Step 3 – Sewing the Climashield to the Nylon Layers
Tip: When sewing on the machine, keep the Ripstop Nylon on top — this makes it much easier to feed the fabric smoothly under the presser foot.
Note: At the spot where you left the opening to turn the blanket right side out, sew only one layer (e.g., the graphite nylon) to the Climashield insulation, so that you can still turn the blanket right side out later.
Step 4 – Closing the Opening
After sewing the fabric to the Climashield, turn the blanket right side out and sew the remaining opening closed. Fold the edges of the nylon inward and pin the layer of nylon to the nylon layer already sewn to the Climashield.
Step 5 – Quilting
On the blanket, draw horizontal lines for quilting (in our case, spaced 16.5 cm apart). It can be helpful to pin the layers of the blanket together (see photo). Sew along the horizontal lines.
Next, draw vertical lines also spaced 16.5 cm apart and sew along them. This creates a grid pattern with squares measuring 16.5 cm × 16.5 cm.
Good luck!
