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Make a Baby Quilt -- Without a Sewing Machine!



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Fox




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 13 2014, 3:28 pm
Here's a project for all of you who would like to make a quilt but don't have a sewing machine. This is an easy first project, but it's a project that experienced seamstresses often do, too. You can easily finish it in an evening or two, and unlike many quilting projects, it really will save you money!

What You'll Be Making
This project is a 34" square (approximately) hand-tied baby quilt. It's perfect for a baby gift, and the materials will cost less than $10 on sale. Even if you fall in love with expensive fabric, the project won't exceed $20 or so.

Best of all, the quilt will be a personal gift that will likely be treasured -- not something you threw into your Target or Wal-Mart basket at the last minute.

Supplies
You'll need the following:

* 1 yard each of coordinating cotton or flannel.
* 1 piece of batting, 34"-36" square.
* Matching or contrasting embroidery floss
* An embroidery or other needle with a large eye
* Regular thread to match
* Regular needle
* Safety pins
* Scissors
* Iron
* A pencil

Making the Sandwich
The first step is to trim the fabric and "make the sandwich":

1. Select the yard of fabric that will be the backing -- the part that will face down when the quilt is placed on the bed. Trim the fabric to 36" square.

2. Place the backing fabric right-side down on a table or on the floor. Some quilters use masking tape to keep it from sliding around during this step.

3. Place the batting on top of the backing fabric and smooth it out.

4. Trim the quilt top fabric to 34" square. Place the quilt top fabric right-side up on top of the batting. Smooth out wrinkles. You may find it helpful to use an iron. Note that the backing will be about 2" larger than the batting and top.

5. Using safety pins, pin the three layers at intervals of approximately 5 inches.

The Easy Part
With the quilt still on the table or floor, use your pencil to mark where you will place the ties. You may want to use a ruler, but you can often simply eyeball the placement on a small quilt like this.

Now comes the fun part: tying the quilt. Crafty Gemini has a great video to demonstrate; I'm having some trouble posting the link, but you can search for:

"crafty gemini how to tie a quilt"

Finishing the Quilt
After you've tied the quilt, you can take out all those safety pins! Now it's time to finish the edges!

This is easy: if you can hand-hem a skirt, you can finish your quilt!

1. Fold over 1/2" on each edge of the backing and iron.

2. Fold over 1-1 1/2" on each edge of the backing and iron. If you wish, you may fold a triangle in each corner first to create a mitered look. However, this is not necessary.

3. Hand-stitch around the perimeter of the quilt, attaching the backing to the top.

Signing the Quilt
Use a permanent marker or pen to write your name, the date, and the occasion in small letters in an inconspicuous place on the back of the quilt. Every quilt tells a story, and it is likely that your quilt will be kept for many, many years.

Post or PM me with questions!
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Rubber Ducky




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 13 2014, 3:53 pm
Here's a link to the CraftyGemini quilt tying tutorial: http://craftygemini.blogspot.c......html

Great 1st project idea!
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yo'ma




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 13 2014, 4:06 pm
Cheater quilts are the best for beginners. My mother gave each of her grandchildren a quilt. She tried to give one of my kids one, but I said no. Very Happy Twisted Evil Twisted Evil
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Rubber Ducky




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 13 2014, 6:28 pm
yo'ma wrote:
Cheater quilts are the best for beginners. My mother gave each of her grandchildren a quilt. She tried to give one of my kids one, but I said no. Very Happy Twisted Evil Twisted Evil

Cheater quilts... I had to look that term up! Yes, it would feel like cheating...
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tzniutfashion




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 12 2015, 11:25 am
If you can hand sew, then you can sew anything. A sewing machine just makes it faster and more accurate and efficient.
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Mar 13 2015, 2:49 pm
Rubber Ducky wrote:
Here's a link to the CraftyGemini quilt tying tutorial: http://craftygemini.blogspot.c......html

Great 1st project idea!


Thanks, I enjoyed this Very Happy
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Mar 13 2015, 3:03 pm
I've made hand stitched quilts for all the kids and some new babies. All were pieced and quilted by hand. A pal machine stitched the bindings for me. I wish I could still hand sew.
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Rubber Ducky




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Mar 13 2015, 3:28 pm
Magenta, can you still machine sew?
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