12 Ideas for What to Do with Receiving Blankets

You’ll buy and get a lot of receiving blankets as an expectant or new mum. Including the one swaddling your newborn at the delivery room. They are typically available in packs and often a ubiquitous baby shower gift. You’ll end up with tens of blankets stashed away or repurposed. You may often wonder what to do with receiving blankets.

Your child’s first linen has multi-functionality, even after falling out of your baby’s use. You can make new gifts, souvenirs, aprons, and wiping cloths out of recycled receiving blankets. You’ll also find nifty ideas to turn a blanket into pretty banners or garlands for room decoration. An old flannel, fleece, or bamboo cotton baby wrapping cloth can cover furniture or become part of hand-crafted cuddly toys.

Since receiving blankets are made to stand the tests of time and your baby’s messes, they can also become functional in other capacities. Follow my tips to turn your baby’s blanket into a helpful something, extending its usability and legacy as your child’s first linen type.

Using Receiving Blankets with Your Newborn or Infant

A receiving blanket is a small, typically soft fabric that measures at least 30 inches square. As with other baby garment items, these blankets are made from natural fibers of cotton.

It makes more sense to use receiving blankets in your baby’s crib as an alternative to heavy un-breathable varieties. That’s due to their temperature regulating capacity. Placing one of these blankets on your bed if you’re co-sleeping will protect your bed sheets or mattress from impromptu messes.

The most popular materials for baby linen are flannel and bamboo cotton, while others come in gauze or muslin. Receiving blankets are super absorbent, washable, and quick-drying; you’ll also get variety in colors, prints, and patterns.

Get started with your receiving blankets with endless possibilities depending on whether you’re at home, on the move, or in public. These practical receiving blanket uses include;

Swaddling

Swaddling involves folding your baby in a receiving blanket, especially when they’re still womb-sized. Up to a certain point, you’ll swaddle your tot to calm them so they can sleep. Receiving blankets, however, fall short due to surface area, and soon, your infant will start wiggling out of them.

Baby Changing

You wouldn’t want to change your baby on a public facility changing table without providing adequate hygienic measures. As such, receiving blankets make a more accessible carriage than table pads or covers, and you can quickly scoop up any mishaps.

Stroller or Car Seat Blanket

During the warm seasons, your baby can explore the outdoors with a couple of receiving blankets in the stroller. You can also easily fold and store these blankets in your car’s door pouches to use as covering when your infant falls asleep in their car seat. That goes for anywhere else where your child will want cuddles, such as your living room.

Oversize Bib or Splatter Container

If your infant or toddler is starting to feed themselves, expect a super-sized mess. A small chest bib won’t cut it, so with a few receiving blankets, you can cover their entire body like a napkin with a few receiving blankets lying around. You can have one on the floor to catch runaway spit-up projectiles or make a tablecloth or feeding chair placemat.

Spill Cleanup

You can keep receiving blankets at arm’s reach when your little crawler starts knocking over stuff or spilling formula on the carpet. A blanket will quickly absorb spills better than rolls of paper towels, and later you can throw them in the wash risk-free.

Giant Burp Cloth

If your baby spurts when burping, you’ll need more than a regular burp cloth. Receiving blankets gives you and your child better protection from acidic stomach contents spilling over your shoulder. These alternative flannel cloths have better absorption and cover a greater surface area to catch spewing.

Picnic Mat

It’s spring or early summer when the weather is perfect for picnicking with your baby. With a couple of receiving blankets on a grassy park, your tot can fully immerse themselves in the outdoors. In the same instance, a blanket can act as an emergency diaper or something to cover up with when breastfeeding in public.

Bassinet or Bouncer Liner

To prevent blow-outs from going into everything, use a receiving blanket as a liner for your baby’s bassinet. You can place one of these on the seat of a bouncer or the high chair to catch anything escaping from their diapers.

What Else Can You Do with Extra Receiving Blankets?

So, your baby has done using receiving blankets, or you’ve got too many, and you don’t know what to do with them. If you have a fair pile in your closet, having given some away till there’s no one left to give, you can upcycle them into different nifty projects. Here are five ways you can keep using extra blankets.

Quilts, Stuffed Toys, or Pillowcases

You can join multiple receiving blankets to make pillows, cases, quilts, or Raggedy-Ann dolls. You can use your baby’s first blanket for years to come as an item with functionality yet sentimental value. Making a pillowcase will involve folding the blanket in half and sewing the edges together while leaving one end open.

Flannel, Bamboo Cotton, or Muslin Blankets into Pajamas

If your sewing skills are notably questionable, you can turn old receiving blankets into a pair of pajamas. Your child will continue to wear these bedtime garments for years at least, extending their functionality.

A Basket Made of Receiving Blankets

Making a storage basket from a receiving blanket is easy, and some designs don’t involve sewing. To do this, coil up your old blankets into roped with which to make a rattan-type basket using twine or wire.

Bed Caddy from Used Receiving Blankets

A bedside gadget organizer or caddy keeps the stuff you’ll need at hand, and you can form this from extra receiving blankets with a bit of DIY. Caddies hung to the side of your bed will hold everything from glasses, remotes, personal entertainment, books, and calculators. A little folding and a few stitches later, your used baby blanket continues the function of helping to eliminate the mess.

Conclusion

Maybe you’re no seamstress, and beyond your baby’s needs, you’ve got no further use for all the receiving blankets. An old blanket is the perfect clean-up rag, or you can have it act as a reusable wet wipe. Cut them up into pieces that you can throw in the washing machine after use, saving on the price of disposable tissues or paper towels.