Unfortunately the underside lining was a thin silky material and the decorativ stitching that went through the blanket had caused the lining to rip in a few places.
It had been repaired in a few places before.....
But at some point you just have to decided to either reinforce, or replace, the entire backing. So that's what I did. I had found a set of like-new ike sheets in a dark grey, a perfect tonal complement to the jewel-plum color of this blanket, and decided to sacrifice the flat sheet to this higher calling. Just like making a pillowcover I put the 'right' sides of the fabric together and sewed around the edge for most of the way, then turned everything rightside out. I finished the final bit with machine since I was not interested in hand stitching suh a heavy duty item.
In order to cover the entire backing I had to go around the edge of the blanket a bit, so if you were to lay it flat the front velvet side would have a thin grey border. A recent houseguest heard this story and got to try out the blanket for a few nights. She declared, "This blanket it awesome. I want it."
There you have it. Another example of a successful attempt to repair, reuse, and remake.
And the entire thing is machine washable!
Happy freestyling.