Camp Blankets Crests & Memories: How To
Have you made a camp blanket or poncho? I finally decided to make myself one!
I was not sure if I wanted a blanket or poncho style. I only knew that I wanted it to last a lifetime.
I had a small collection of badges and patches from my youth in Guiding, and those that I started to collect as my time as a leader in Guiding and Scouting.
I can look at each crest or badge, even those from when I was a girl and remember when and where I was when I received it. At one of our camps last Spring, girls enjoyed looking at my old Brownie and Guide badges. They like how pretty and different the old style badges were. They had a good laugh trying to figure out how old I was, by trying to count the years from my 1985 Celebration challenge crest for the 75th Celebration of Girl Guides in Canada.
They were enthralled from the story I told of the huge rally we had for the 75th Celebration, and marching in the street with our uniforms and flags for the parade!
Some Guiders have multiple blankets and ponchos, and hundreds of crests and patches. So, I set out on a journey with my humble pile of patches, and pulled out my little bag of crests from the 'I have no idea where to put this stuff drawer', and got to work (see Pattern links and instructions below).
Since then, I have made multiple camp ponchos for my unit as end of the year gifts to our Brownies flying up to Guides, mainly out of fleece and I sew the sash directly on the poncho.
So far, I have made over twenty fleece ponchos for my girls, using two different patterns.
End of the Year Gifts
For our end of the year gifts to our Brownies flying up to Guides, I made smaller fleece ponchos and sewed their sashes on.
The photo to the left used the Poncho Style #3 pattern from Campfire Blanket Patterns (the traditional V shape in the front and back, although the picture shows it as a square. This was the first set I had made, I was in a rush and tight budget to make 14 of them. Fleece quality is everything, it was a last minute plan and the fleece was quite flimsy.
This batch being a little larger will give a lot of room for girls to grow, and room for more sashes and crests!
Wool Poncho for the Win!
I decided on a wool poncho for myself, as opposed to fleece. I used the Wool Blanket Poncho Pattern, from E-Patches & Crests.
I prefer wool and its warmth (even when wet), durability, and the fact that it is fire-retardant. A good quality wool blanket is not very itchy either.
I also love the poncho as it can be used as a spare blanket when camping too! I took my kids winter camping a few weeks ago and the extra wool blankets/ponchos made a huge difference.
Product Review
Fleece is a great product, but I feel that wool has the lasting properties I want, and wool is actually easier to sew.
I purchased my wool blanket from E-Patches & Crests. If you are familiar with my blog I use this company a lot! They are a great business to deal with, have reasonable pricing, great selection , friendly staff and my orders are always shipped on time. They even write a little thank you note on the invoice for a personal touch.
The blanket they sell is 66 inches x 84 inches ,and is 80% wool and 20% man-made fibers. Bonus: the poncho is large enough, that it can be opened up and be used as a blanket and it is navy blue. It is a very good quality thick blanket.
It retails for $49.95 CAN, and was shipped to my home. This is a very good quality blanket, and would definitely buy again.
Versus
I used the same pattern to make my Scout son a poncho. However, I purchased a Stansport Wool Blend Camp Blanket, Olive Green, on Amazon.ca.
Patterns
Some great patterns for campfire blankets are available for free download from E-Patches & Crests. Bonus: They have a points program where you can earn points to spend on crests! Sign up for free to become a member for great ideas, plans and sales!
The site below shows the process for Poncho Style #3 from above:
Method
I followed most of the instructions for the Wool Blanket Poncho Pattern (free download) and used a 66" x 84" wool blanket.
I ended up cutting a small 3" V slit at the center front to make the neck easier to pull over my head, cutting almost 3" off of the point of the hood to square it off so I didn't look like a frumpy garden gnome, and finished off the neck and hood seams with 1 inch bias-tape for a cleaner, finished look.
Follow the instructions of the pattern. This is simple enough that a novice sewer can manage the pattern.
measure and cut 14" off one end of the blanket
serge or zig-zag stitch cut end of blanket or use a blanket stitch (I used an over-leaf serge stitch on a regular sewing machine)
find center of poncho
optional: find center after leaving the back 2" longer than front for a longer back
cut 12"-14" width wise to make head opening (I used 14")
measure and cut (from 14" cut-off) 30" x 14" piece for hood.
stitch together back side of hood (serge stitch seam)
make 1/2 " fold at front (this is where you can add a drawstring if desired or use 1" bias-tape to finish like I did)
optional: cut a 2-3" slit to widen the head opening.
optional: turn hood inside out, flatten point of hood into triangle, and sew seam approximately 3" across hood point to square off
pin and sew hood to poncho, easing the seams in
serge or zigzag stitch raw edge
top stitch for reinforcement
sew bias-tape over neck seams, hood edge and around opening slit in front for a finished look (see photos right)
Optional Kangaroo Pocket
measure and cut (from 14" cut-off) 20" x 14" piece for front pocket
find top center of pocket and mark 10"
measure from the bottom of pocket sides up to desired length (I measured just over 5")
cut a diagonal piece from bottom measurement to top measurement to form opening area for hands in pockets
fold seam of 1/2" all around pocket
top-stitch diagonal cut areas and finish with an optional serge or zigzag stitch
center pocket on poncho (make sure to sew your crests on the pocket before attaching to body), and top stitch pocket to front of body (double stitching or serge/zigzag stitch will strengthen)
Sewing Crests & Badges On
I chose to small zig-zag stitch all of my crests on. It was much easier than trying to hand-sew through all that plastic backing. The stitch was also very forgiving and worked well to sew around odd-shaped crests. I used matching coloured thread, but clear thread would probably have made faster work, although I do not like how plastic clear thread is.
Thoughts
I am an avid seamstress, but these were s simple and easy projects for novice sewers. It did not take long to make the actual poncho; attaching the crests, well that was another story.
Hopefully, I can keep-up adding crests as I get them, as I have recently acquired 34 more to sew on (photo right).
I think I may adapt it further by incorporating an optional belt like in this Wool Blanket Coat. Especially, to tie-back when tending the campfire.
All-in-all, I am quite happy with the results of my poncho-blanket, and look forward to adding more crests and memories over the years to come.
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