Any item in the home that serves more than one purpose is a good value. This project will give you the opportunity to create great artwork for children’s spaces, and at the same time give your kids something extra to play with.
Checkerboard Blanket
For this project you will need black and red fleece or other fabric (for a traditional checkerboard), and the amount needed depends on how large you want the blanket to be. Fleece is generally sold by the yard, and is usually at least 60″ wide, which will give you fifteen 12″ squares per yard length.
Cut the fleece into 12″ squares and begin sewing them together, alternating black and red, black and red, until you have eight squares side by side. Start the next row with the opposite color you used to start the first row, and continue in this fashion until you have eight rows of eight squares, four that start with red and four that start with black.
Sew the rows together then hem the edges of the entire piece, or add trim to smooth rough edges. For a more substantial blanket, sew the checkerboard piece to another piece of fabric to create a backing. To do so, turn the good side of the checkerboard to face the good side of the other fabric. Sew three of the edges together, and sew the bottom edge, from the corners toward the center about 12″ on each side. Turn it right side out, tuck the rough edge in a bit, and sew the center of the bottom seam closed.
Variations
Another great idea is to use other colors to make your checkerboard blanket instead of the traditional black and red. The end result will be just as much fun and will be even more stylish if you use colors that coordinate with the decor in the space. You can even use prints instead of solids to add extra interest.
Checkers
You can use whatever you like to make checkers, including small doilies, plastic coasters or plastic lids from coffee cans covered in black and red felt. *See Making Checkers article for other ideas.