I was very excited to see what Leslie would make for nani IRO month. She has such a good eye for colour and combining fabrics and I love her creations, including her nani IRO blanket!

I’m really glad she decided to start sewing as a Miss Matatabi Maker as it has given us a chance to get to know each other a little better. She is so sweet! We also share some things in common and I love that. The obvious, we are both crazy about fabric. Many of you will remember Leslie from her lovely fabric shop – it looks like she may be opening again to share some of her remaining Japanese fabric! We also share a connection to Japan by being married to Japanese men. Whose names both start with H. And we both have daughters whose names start with A. Plus, they are both adorable. ha! 😉

Leslie takes gorgeous photos and I admire how she manages to capture the beauty in every day moments. Visit her on instagram where she posts about her creative adventures to see what I mean!

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This was written by Leslie for nani IRO month and the Miss Matatabi Makers series.

It’s Nani Iro month here on Miss Matatabi’s blog and this makes me so happy. Naomi Ito’s designs are always so perfect and her double gauze fabrics are super lovely. It was hard to choose just one project to make so I knew it had to be a good one.

A few years ago I made Anika the baby blanket made out of Nani Iro fabric and it’s the softest blanket ever. So I decided to make a larger blanket that would be perfect for summer. I chose two contrasting different Nani Iro double gauze fabrics (one fun one and one pretty one) for this project.

I wanted to make a simple blanket and the Nani Iro fabric is great for that. Being able to use the same fabric an entire side really shows off the beauty of the design and saves you time. (My blanket was inspired by this adorable blanket by Anna over at Noodlehead.)

This was such an easy and pretty project to make. I just sewed the fabrics wrong sides together, with a layer of flannel in the middle, and turned them inside out. I didn’t quilt it afterwards but I might go back and do a bit of hand quilting in some of the circles.

I wanted to add a couple of details to make the blanket a little more unique. I was going to make piping for the edges but I decided against that. (It could have been due to lack of patience and/or that I had procrastinated on this project and ran out of time.) I basically made the piping without the cord in it and I love how it turned out. I also quilted a big pink heart for the one side to add a bit more fun to the blanket – and Anika won’t stop thanking me for that detail!

You can find your own awesome Nani Iro fabric in Miss Matatabi’s shop. The selection is quite large so you will have no problem choosing a few favourites!

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Thank you, Leslie! Connect with Leslie on instagram, pinterest, and flickr.