Make Your Own Pillow Blanket

from Brit+Co

Though sunshine, warm nights and beach days are pretty darn awesome, our favorite part of summer is the return of two timeless pastimes: The road trip and DIY projects. Throwing everything you need in the car and hitting the road is totally empowering, exciting and energizing; especially when you bring along your own summer project! Growing up, I spent many an hour in the backseat of a Ford Explorer beside my stepsister, sharing headphones and switching back and forth between her cassette tape player and my CD player, inventing games to pass the time and sometimes listening to our parents ;) Now that we plan our own road trips, we know you need convertible comfort when spending significant time in the backseat, and we have you covered (pun def intended). Instead of making a blanket or making a pillow, try this DIY project that can be both. Pups love it too. And for other easy DIY projects for summer and travel, check out www.brit.co.

First, gather your tool and materials. You'll need five yards of fleece in different colors, a sewing machine, pins, a ruler and fabric scissors.

The first step is determining the size of your blanket. The fleece we purchased from the store had a width of 50 inches. We decided to make the blanket 50 x 72 inches (two yards). You will need to purchase five yards of fleece, three yards of your base color and one yard of your two accent colors. Now you need to determine the size of your rectangles for your quilting pattern. Ours were 12 x 15. Cut 18 of these in different colors.

Pin three across and sew. These will be your panels. Change the order of colors to form a quilting pattern.

Pin four panels together and sew. Then, sew two rectangles to the bottom left and right rows. This will form a hole in the middle row. Don't worry. This is correct!

Cut your panel for the backside of the blanket, pin, and sew. Turn right side out. Ta-dah! You're almost there.

Sew your last two rectangles together and pin to your blanket. Sew three sides of the panel leaving the edge matching the edge of the blanket open. This will be where your blanket stuffs inside to turn into a pillow.

Voilà! Your very own travel “planket.” Now enough with the DIY projects, it’s time for you to hit the road!

In collaboration with National 4-H Council. Visit 4-H.org to download the Spring Activity Guide with tips and activities for your family.