Picnic Blanket DIY

Photos by Jylare.

We love to gather all our local friends for big play dates in the park. It’s so easy, everyone comes and goes as they please, no one’s house gets trashed, and there’s plenty of space for chaos. Do you do these types of play dates where you’re at? One thing we noticed is that everyone brings their own picnic blanket, but then each of us ends up all on the same blanket together anyway. So, why not bring one that’s big enough for all? Here’s a DIY for taking even the most tragic quilt or most boring blanket and making it play date in the park worthy.

We’ve made this two ways, black paint on a white fleece throw, and multi-color on a cotton quilt. It works wonders on either! Got a quilt you’re not especially fond of? Flip it over and paint the plain side! The other side of this quilt below is tan and brown leaves.
Here’s what you’ll do:

Lay out your blanket with plenty of room to stretch out, a driveway is ideal if you’re using a King size throw like we did. Then we used the Green Frog Tape to create the pattern. We started with a larger border around the whole rectangle. Then match that same shape just slightly smaller inside, maybe two or three inches! You’ll paint in between your borders giving you nice and crisp lines. Once the border is in place you can add shapes in the middle, we stuck with a few triangles, but like with all these types of projects, so many possibilities!

Once you’ve got all your borders and shapes taped, you’re ready to paint! If you’re doing a fleece throw put down newspaper or something underneath your taped off areas in case of bleeding. (A cotton quilt you won’t have a problem!) We just use acrylic, it washes up great, with minimal fade. This is when you’ll want LOTS of space versus trying to stretch it out in a small confined area. The fleece absorbs paint pretty quickly so you’ll need quite a bit to get a saturated covered look. Once the paint is mostly set, remove the tape lines and let it dry completely. Don’t try to transfer it until it’s completely dry! (Sorry again, Jenna!)

Since unique and on-trend quilts can really cost an arm and a leg, painting your own is a super easy project that’s actually pretty fun! It only takes an hour or less depending on how ambitious your patterns are, but try it out and be sure to tag us – #SmallFryDIY – if you make one!