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I am a photography fanatic. I love taking pictures, tweaking pictures, and finding the beauty in every day items

Monday, May 12, 2008

Simple Baby Quilt

I have been wanting to make something wonderful and special for Lucy. I know I have decorated her room, spent time trying to find nice toys, hopefully bought her cute clothes, and those things are all nice, but I have been really wanting to make something for her that is completely hers. Because lets face it.... decorating the nursery and dressing up the kid is done more for us than it is for them. I wanted her to have something she wouldn't have to pass down or grow out of. So, I decided I wanted to make her a blanket. Something that she would truly like, something spunky and with a little twist. But then I ran into a problem.... um..well... I don't really know how to sew all too well.
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Almost everything that I have made in my life I have had my mom right there helping me. So when I lost the thread or sewed the seam in wrong or sewed my shirt to the fabric..... true story, mommy was also there to fix it :) So, instead of making a wonderful, one of a kind, ahead-of-its-time blanket, I went for fast and simple. Touching... I know! :)

So here is my tutorial for a cute, but simple blanket. All you need is...

3 different patterned fabrics (two for the squares -light pink and dark pink - and one for your item that will be sewn on the squares - green)
Thread
Quilt Padding
Stencil Of A Shape or Item (for sewing on the squares)
Yarn for tying
Pins
Fabric Cutting Scissors

First you need to decide how big you want the blanket. I decided that I wanted it big enough to last her most of her childhood, not just a baby blanket, but not a full sized quilt either. I wanted it to be easy enough for her to drag around the house wherever she goes, so she doesn't have to lug it. I cut out a 7x7 square out of card stock for my template. I then proceeded to cut out 30 squares out of the fabric (15 of each color, light & dark pink). Once you have the squares cut out put them to the side.

Then you need to make a template for the item that will go over the squares. I chose a star, I found a template free online easily or you can go to your local library and find a sewing/craft book; they have soooo many templates in the back of those books for you to use. Once you have a nice template cut out, cut 15 stars/items from your fabric that you will be attaching to the squares.
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Now you can go ahead and sew one star per square, just make sure that you sew the 15 stars consistently to the same color of square fabric. Use a Satin Stitch on your sewing machine to sew the stars on, make sure you are tracing the complete edge of the star; make sure the edge of the star land hald way through the stich. You shouldn't be able to see the edge of the star at all.
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Once you have all the stars sewn on, go ahead and start sewing all the squares together row by row. Since you have cut the squares out 7x7, you can sew the squares together with a 1/2 inch seam. You will have 6 rows of 5 squares attached. Once you have all 6 seperate rows, start sewing the rows together, make sure that the squares on each row are lining up. Again, sew the rows together giving a 1/2 inch seam, so by the time you have attached all the rows the squares should now be 6x6.

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Now here come the sandwich part. From the fabric you have left over, from either color, cut out the back of the blanket. Make sure that it is bigger then the quilted part.... it should have 1-2 inches lay over on each side, top and bottom. Lay the backing down, the quilt padding in the middle, and the quilted part on top. Take the matching yarn you picked out and use it to sew/tie all the layers together. You can either tie the yarn right in the middle of the other squares or in the corners where the squares all meet.

When you have tied all the layers together, you can now fold the bottom layer up to make the border. You can hand sew this anyway you like, just make sure you sew the border in about 1/2 inch deep to help keep all the squares looking the same size, having that 6x6 look. And voila.... your blanket is done.

I hope these instructions are easy enough to follow, I was planning on taking pictures during the whole process, but my camera died and I couldn't find the charger. I am planning on going back and making a PDF file so you can download and print a easy step by step template when I make another one for my niece. But it really is quite simple so have fun! :)

37 comments:

  1. I am horrible at sewing. I can't sew a button back on to me trousers. But I really, REALLY love this idea of the blanket and I'll definitely try it in the near future. Because, as you admitted you aren't a brilliant sewer either, I am totally convinced I can do this. You did a brilliant job, the blanket looks beautiful (like a pro made it ;). Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Really nice and nice of you to show how you did it!!

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  3. I've made those type of quilts (minus the stars) I just love them. They remind me of my grandma. That's the type of quilts she made.

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  4. Great idea. Since I just got a sewing machine for Mother's Day I'm definitely going to have to try this.

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  5. That is adorable! I love the colors and the star. What a cute picture of Lucy. :)

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  6. A word of warning: watch out for kids chewing on the yarn that you use to tie the quilt. Evan was a shark and ended up consuming many of the quilt ties on an adorable quilt that his great grandmother made him. Yeah I know, I have a strange child.

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  7. That is really cute - it's a keepsake!

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  8. Wow that is really cute. I remember a blanket my grandma made me when I was a kid, my pinky, I still have it actually. Definitely a great thing for her to have.

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  9. Girl, you are the crafty queen!! I love that last picture of Lucy with her blanket and pillow...she looks so excited!!

    I still have a lot of blankets that were made for me as a baby and they are special to me. How neat that you did that for her!

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  10. I can sew but I've never tried quilting. You've made it seem easy, and the pattern is too too cute. I normally do cross stitch bibs for new babies. Of course, the cobbler's children have no shoes, so I didn't manage to make one for either of mine.

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  11. That looks WONDERFUL and not something someone might still need there mommy to help sew, I think I am still a bit scared. I am even afraid to cut out the squares so they are all even. Great job

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  12. Now you are really moving out of the motherhood for 'dummies'! Just teasing, the quilt looks beautiful and I'm sure Lucy will cherish it.

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  13. Now I completely think your craftiness knows no end!

    You are amazing and I am sure that Lucy will love her quilt forever!

    Beyond amazing!!

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  14. I would screw it up, but it is cute. Wish I was creative/crafty like that.

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  15. Thanks for stopping by my place. I love your sewing. You underestimate yourself. I cannot sew for the life of me.

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  16. INSPIRING! I am horrible at sewing, but this is super sweet! Great job!

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  17. You make it seem so EASY. I've wanted to sew blankets for my kids and have even bought fabric, but all I've actually made are curtains and pillows. I might have to try this.

    Lucy is SO cute!

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  18. That blanket is absolutely darling! It sounds easy to make but I am so uncrafty I just don't know...

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  19. Dang! Why don't I sew??? I keep telling myself I have to learn and I never do. I really should learn!!!!

    It looks like she just loves her blanket!

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  20. That is so cute! Love the pillow, too. It looks like she likes them.:)

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  21. I totally can't sew. Haven't attempted to since 6th grade. That being said, I just might need to learn! The blanket is adorable!!

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  22. You go girl! Awesome project! But, frankly, Lucy steals the show. She is beyond adorable Her cuteness is beyond compare. I want one just like her!!!!! And, I love that name.

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  23. Looks like a great project. I saved some of my favorite baby clothes with the idea of some day making a blanket. Of course I have no idea how to sew, but you make it look easy!

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  24. Really beautiful!

    And you can tell she's thrilled with it, too.

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  25. Wow, I am so impressed with your talent. I couldn't even do those hook-a-rug kits so this BLOWS ME AWAY!

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  26. I love it!!! When I am all settled in I want to start a project like this. :)

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  27. She should have some good memories of that quilt made with love.

    My mom has made me three quilts. The first she took back because I loved it so much it ended up with huge holes. The second is nice enough to use when my son gets a twin bed. The third is on my bed now. It has butterflys! I know my husband is awesome because he puts up with butterflys on his bed.

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  28. i haven't been able to figure out my sewing machine so i like things that are easy to hand sew...like that awesome set you have there!! i'm so impressed with how creative you are!!

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  29. It was worth all that work just for the incredibly cute picture you got out of it!

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  30. how very very cute! I always said I was going to make quilts of some kind for the kids, and three kids later, still haven't attempted it. I DID, however, buy SOFT fleece material and sew on some of that silky blanket edging stuff (which is NOT very easy, I might add!!) for each kid. My middle child is the only one who cares a lick about the blanket, but it feels good knowing something I made is something HE loves!

    I'm sure your daughter will enjoy that quilt for years to come. What a neat thing!

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  31. I love this idea and am really tempted to try it...but I am very afraid I will screw it up. I'll keep you posted on whether or not I venture into making a blanket :)

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  32. Lucy is too cute and you can see she loves the blanket and pillow. I've done a lot of quilts in my time both for my two kids and then I started baby quilts for my nephews and nieces kids when they started coming along. I've used a product called "wonder under" you draw the pattern on one side then fuse that to the underside of the fabric. After you cut it out you then peel off the paper part and fuse to the front side of your quilt square. Then zigzag around the whole thing. Using this method you can do more layering - like one square had a frog on it and the frog is one color and the belly of the frog is another. I'm going on - lol let me stop and just say GREAT JOB! here's the most recent quilt I've done with this method http://wheretheroadtakesus.blogspot.com/2008/04/wintersback.html

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  33. okay, so my blogging skill are not that sharp. I think to see my quilt I need to put this in applique quilt. Hope that works - my lack of skills is showing lol

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  34. Why can't I sew?
    That is too cute!

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  35. That is really cute and special, and obviously she loves it. :)

    I made Fly a quilt before he was born. I couldn't find just the right palm tree fabric I wanted, so I used fabric paint and a palm tree stamp. (Also a sun stamp.) For his 2nd birthday, I plan on using leftover fabric from the quilt (there was lots!) to make him a matching floor chair.

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  36. You are simply amazing! And that Lucy, my GAWD she is darling.

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