What sewing projects are good for football season?

Good football season sewing projects include a stadium-style picnic quilt, a bread or roll warmer for the tailgate spread, a foldable tote for hauling gear, and an embroidered apron for whoever's running the grill. All four are beginner-friendly and use materials you can pick in team colors. None of them require more than an afternoon at the machine. My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe carries downloadable patterns and embroidery blanks for each one.

Football season runs on two things, friend: good food and a place to sit. Sewing can help with both. These four projects cover the blanket on the ground, the bread on the table, the bag getting everything there, and the person cooking it — and every one of them can be made in whatever colors your household is rooting for this year.

Make the blanket first — it's the one everyone sits on

The Blanket Statement Picnic Quilt is a downloadable sewing pattern written for both sewing machines and sergers, and it comes together as a 60" x 60" finished quilt. It was born as a picnic pattern, sure, but fabric doesn't know that. Swap the picnic palette for your team's colors and you've got yourself a stadium blanket nobody else in the parking lot will be carrying.

Honestly, this is the one to start with if you only make it through one project on this list. Blankets get used. Every Saturday, every bleacher, every chilly fourth quarter. 

Keep the rolls warm with a pattern that's exactly the right size for a tailgate spread

The Keeping Those Buns Warm Bread Warmer is a beginner pattern that finishes at 17-1/2" x 17-1/2", and it's built from one fat quarter of main fabric, one fat quarter of lining, and a half yard of fusible interfacing. That's a small enough materials list to make two or three — one for home, one that lives in the tailgate bin, one for whoever hosts the after-game spread.

It folds around a basket of rolls the same way at a tailgate to help keep bread warmer and fresher. Use your team's fabric or colors and you have a functional centerpiece for the tailgate!

Carry everything in a bag that folds down to nothing when you're done

The Packable PDQ Bag is a beginner sewing pattern for a reusable tote that folds into its own front pocket for storage. It's built for exactly this kind of day — the kind where you're hauling snacks, a blanket, folding chairs, and whatever else makes it to the parking lot, and then need somewhere to put the empty containers on the way home.

Sew it in your team's colors and it does double duty as a gift for the person in your life who tailgates every weekend from September through January.

Give the grill master an apron worth stitching on

The Kimberbell Adult Adjustable Strap Apron in Buttermilk is an embroidery blank — a plain, adjustable-strap apron meant to be personalized with machine embroidery, applique, or heat transfer vinyl. Add a team name, a last name, or a phrase that belongs to whoever's running the grill every Saturday.

This one's less about a from-scratch project and more about finishing touches. Hoop a design, stitch it, done. It also makes a fast personalized gift when you're short on time before the first game of the season.

A few things that make these hold up to a whole season of use!

• Choose quilting cotton or a cotton-poly blend over anything delicate. Tailgate projects get set on the ground, spilled on, and washed more than most quilts ever will be.
• Pre-wash your fabric if you're mixing bold team colors. Red and gold have a way of finding the white parts of a quilt in the wash if they haven't been rinsed first.
• Add a label. A tag with your name and the year turns a tailgate blanket into the one that gets asked about every season.
• Make the bag and the bread warmer at the same time. They use similar-sized scraps, so cutting them together saves you a step!
  

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good handmade gift for a tailgate host?
A good handmade gift for a tailgate host is a bread warmer or an embroidered apron, since both get used every time they host. Our Keeping Those Buns Warm pattern and the Kimberbell embroidery apron both work well as gifts in team colors.

Can you turn a picnic quilt pattern into a stadium blanket?
Yes, a picnic quilt pattern can be used to make a stadium blanket by choosing fabric in team colors instead of a picnic print. The construction and finished size stay the same — only the fabric choice changes.

What size is a good stadium or tailgate blanket?
A 60-inch square is a good size for a tailgate or stadium blanket, since it comfortably seats two people and works well on bleachers or the ground. Our Blanket Statement Picnic Quilt pattern finishes at this size.

What's a beginner-friendly sewing project for football season?
The Packable PDQ Bag and the Keeping Those Buns Warm bread warmer are both rated Beginner and use simple, straightforward construction. Both are good starting points if you're new to sewing seasonal projects.

Do you need an embroidery machine for the apron?
Yes, the Kimberbell apron is designed as an embroidery blank, so personalizing it with a name or team design requires an embroidery machine. It can also be decorated with applique or heat transfer vinyl if you don't have one.

Ready to sew for game day? Start with the Blanket Statement Picnic Quilt pattern for a stadium blanket in your team's colors, then round out the tailgate with the Keeping Those Buns Warm bread warmer, the Packable PDQ Bag, and the Kimberbell embroidery apron! All are downloadable and ready before kickoff.