DIY No Sew Beach Blanket in a Bag

Beach days are my favorite days. I love everything but walking in really loose sand which makes me feel like an uncoordinated clod. As I sling sand everywhere I watch other people seemingly glide across the sand in comparison. But there I am kicking up sand, flinging it up into my shorts off of the backs of my flip flops and generally looking like I’m flailing. Because I am.

But sand walking aside everything else is pretty amazing. After a day at the beach my hair looks AMAZING. I’m not sure where all that body and wave goes on landlocked days but on beach days my hair goes from flat to fab in no time! I don’t think I love any place quite as much as the beach. And, in a totally different direction, I love the way things have been changing with the whole body positive movement. Seeing every possible body type confidently strolling the beach is doing wonders for my own self confidence. All in all, the beach is SUCH a good place for me.

With more and more trips there, Rob and I are finally getting more and more beach ready. Since I’m from Oklahoma beach preparedness isn’t exactly knowledge I already have so we’ve gone out and had a heck of a time with beach visits where we weren’t prepared for one thing or another. Each trip I learn a little something new and learn to plan accordingly and every trip is a little more convenient than the last.

I’ve recently learned that beach towels do NOT stay on the sand where you put them. You go and take a dip and come back and your neatly laid out towel is wadded up against somebody’s beach chair and you get to uncomfortably go snap that sucker back up muttering apologies. And you also can’t lay on a beach towel quite like they do in the movies. They get all wound up uncomfortable beneath you, even when you’re seemingly staying perfectly still. How the heck does that work? Beach musical movies have LIED to me! :)

But let’s talk more about this beach blanket… I’m talking a waterproof beach blanket AND stakes to smack that sucker into the ground so it doesn’t wind up embarrassingly wrapped around your beach-going neighbor. AND because I was too lazy to bust out the sewing machine on this particular day it’s also NO SEW! Want to make one? You KNOW you do!

For this project you will need:

• Vinyl tablecloth
• Full sized flat bed sheet
• Spray fusible adhesive & a hot iron
• Glue
• Large curtain grommets

This stuff is spray fusible adhesive and it’s going to make this project go from start to finish in no time flat. Lay your vinyl tablecloth on the ground with the printed side down. Spray your fusible adhesive liberally onto the fuzzy backside, taking care to get it onto the corners and edges.

Give it a little bit to dry and then place your bed sheet pretty side up on top. Using a hot iron melt the fusible web (or at least I assume you’re melting it) so that the two pieces permanently bond. Take care to not rest the iron in one spot too long as the vinyl can melt or warp or whatever.

Now because I never do things perfectly my blanket and sheet are a little bit off but that’s no sweat. Take a yardstick and mark a straight line across one side. Go all around and make lines to turn your wonky shape into a perfect square/rectangle. If you use a pen that matches the pattern of your tablecloth if you mess up it won’t be quite as noticeable.

Using pinking shears to prevent fraying, or scissors if you don’t have them, cut along your drawn line.

Fold the edge over about an inch and use your favorite glue to hold that seam in place.

Cut a hole into each corner and apply a large curtain grommet to easily stake your beach blanket down and keep it safe from the wind. These grommets were originally gray but I painted them with enamel paint in teal to match my blanket. After curing for a while the painted surface is super strong.

And that’s it! It’s beach time!

Roll your beach blanket and toss it in a bag with 4 tent stakes and a rubber mallet. I was able to purchase all of these things for about $6, a bargain and well worth the cost to keep things in place and save embarrassment, if you ask me!

Push your stake into the sand through a grommet to help hold in place.

A few light taps with a mallet will help to keep this baby perfectly down on the ground.

Be sure to pull the blanket tight as you stake it to the ground to keep the surface comfortably wrinkle free.

Boom! Now isn’t that great? I LOVE this beach blanket and we’re keeping it in the car for impromptu visits. It also works well without the stakes at the far less windy park. Yay for happy days at the beach and the park while sitting pretty!08