Me and my shadow: Jubilee Picnic Blanket

Our household is being swept up in the jubilee mania and Ruby's getting really very excited about the 'jubilees'.

As there are no street parties or events going on round here, I thought it would be nice to have a little tea party in the garden over the bank holiday weekend, and set about making a special picnic blanket for the occasion.

Special thanks to the dog who kept walking across it

The piece of fabric I had was so large, I had enough to make a small windbreak too. We have since re-named this the wind-broke as the old man was too lazy to walk 10 paces to get the mallet out of the shed, so using brute force to push the poles into the ground, snapped one on it's first outing and tore a hole in it. Let's just say I was not pleased...

The blanket is an easy no-sew project and is really fun on picnics. As you lay down, you get your own crown - Ruby thinks this is ace!

Keep calm and carry on picnicking

So, to make you're own you will need:

A large piece of heavy cotton fabric (I used a charity shop double sheet, it was vintage and good thick cotton)
DYLON Tulip Red machine dye (plus required salt)
DYLON gold fabric paint
Stencil (either shop bought or make your own)
Further embellishments such as ribbons/flags etc (optional)

1. Following the packet instructions, machine dye your sheet and allow to dry.

2. Decide on the placing of your crowns and mark each position the stencil needs to go - this will help if you need to re-do a second coat.

3. Ensure you have a thick piece of card or an old magazine behind to prevent the paint bleeding through to your work surface - my carpet in this case!

4. Lightly stick your template down in position using either masking tape or a light coat of spray mount. Stipple gold paint on using a sponge or a short haired brush. The stencil I've used here is 'large crown' by My Stencil Studio.

5. Once all your stencilling is complete and dry, cover the painted area with a cloth and iron on a hot setting for a couple of minutes to seal it.

For the wind-break, I stitched channels to take 4 poles (broom handle size). Then, on one side I stencilled using DYLON black fabric paint, a stencil I cut out myself.