DIY Painted Pineapple Baby Swaddle Blanket
Baby Girl is coming and even though we have lots of baby gear already, I just can’t help but make her a few special things of her own. Knowing that last time we used our muslin swaddle blankets until they were practically threadbare, I decided to grab a few blank ones and make her some custom blankies to get wrapped up in. (Swaddling, by the way, was our savior last time around when it came to getting Hank calm and asleep.) I found some really fun fabric paints that act a little like watercolor on a muslin blanket, so I fiddled around until I came up with this painted pineapple pattern, which is suuuuper easy to make.
By the way, here’s another thing I did to help some other moms get ready for baby and it was such a fun DIY to put together!
Materials
- white swaddle blankets (these are a great size, nice and big to wrap baby up like a burrito, and SO SOFT)
- textile paint
- fan paintbrush
- flat-tipped or angled paintbrush
- cardboard
- water
Make Time: 1 Hour (Plus Washing Time)
Step 1: Decide how often you’d like your pineapple pattern to repeat. I was able to fit 5 pineapples across the blanket, and stagger the rows. These pineapples are about 5″ tall and 2.5″ wide.
Step 2: Place a piece of cardboard behind your blanket and spread it out. Start painting the oval bodies of your pineapples. To get the watercolor look, squeeze some yellow paint out on a palette, and dip your flat brush in water, soaking it. Mix the water into the paint; keep mixing until you have a pretty soupy consistency. Load your brush with paint and paint a messy oval onto the blanket. Sometimes I wouldn’t re-dip in paint to fill in the oval, but instead dip into water and keep painting. That creates a layered, watercolor look.
Step 3: Dip your brush in water and squeeze a bit of russet-colored paint onto your palette. Load the tip of the brush with a tiny bit of color and create criss-cross lines on the yellow oval. Use a very light touch to create fine lines. Tip: You might want to test this part out on a piece of paper first to get the feel of painting the lines.
Step 4: Squeeze out some green paint; add a bit of white to brighten if you desire. Dip your fan brush in water until saturated. Mix the green and white paints, load your brush, and create downward strokes starting about 2″ above the oval, drawing them down toward the oval. This will make the green crown of the pineapple.
Step 5: Continue making pineapples until your blanket is full!
Step 6: If you like, let a few watery drips of color drop across your blanket at random. I spattered a few drops here and there and liked the effect of the random dots of color.
We wanted to be sure the color would hold so we did a test wash and it came out beautifully! I recommend washing in cold water and tumbling dry on low for the first wash, then you can follow the directions on your blanket for all subsequent washes. The paint comes out super soft; you can actually barely feel it on the blanket. These little blankies are so cute, and if you’re not expecting you can always make it as a sweet custom gift for a baby shower. Orrrrr just make one for yourself because they’re so soft I can barely stand it. 😉 xoxo
This is adorable, I love it! Wish I could curl up in that for myself!
You should! The blankets are so, so soft! ☺️
This is so stinkin’ cute!
Thanks Cyd! ?
This is so adorable! I love the watercolor look, too.
Awe, thanks doll! ?
Was the paint crunchy or rough? Did it stay well when washed? Would love to try this!
Hi Lauren! We chose this particular paint because you can barely feel it — it really blends into the fabric and just feels like the texture of the fabric when it’s applied with the technique we outlined. I wash the blanket on cold/gentle and so far the paint has stayed really vibrant!
That means the paint won’t go away after some time?
That’s right! We’ve washed it over and over and the paint is still vibrant. It’s formulated to stay in the fibers of the fabric.
What a lovely DIY. It’s a beautiful & personal keepsake you & the baby will cherish.
Super cute!
You’re shoes look awesome too, where are they from?
Old Navy! 🙂
Nice one!! Thank you for sharing it!
Great Creativity!!
Nice Post!!!!
Any worry with toxicity?
Hi Judy! You can check on your specific packaging or bottle of fabric paint. The paints that I used here are labeled nontoxic. 🙂