Receiving Blankets

My sister had a baby last Friday and I have a good friend having a baby in September. I sat down and made them each a receiving blanket and matching burp cloth. These are fairly popular gifts and you can never have too many of them. I found that most of the ones I was given ended up going crazy in the wash. Most people simply crochet the edges (or serge the edges) and call it good. This leads to the fabric not staying put in the wash, and you end up with the fabric winding its way over the edge. The blanket that my grandmother made was the exception to this event. What did she do differently? She simply sewed a circle in the center and another closer to the blanket's edge. I tend to be more of a more is better person, so I have made it a practice to do concentric circles about 3 inches apart on my blankets ever since. I also stitch extra on the burp cloths, for the same purpose. Here is a picture to illustrate, followed by pictures of the finished, folded blankets. I love the fabrics! (The polka dot is a mint green with brown dots. My niece has red hair, like both of her parents)I also have been crocheting some dish cloths lately. I just can't seem to keep myself stocked in this area. I'm hoping to post an easy crochet pattern for a dishcloth soon.