Make It More Personal With Custom Blankets
A great way to make a memorable quilt baby blanket gift is to get the whole family in on it. Each family member can make a square or two. You can use cloth markers to inscribe special messages from each member. You can choose to have everyone work on the same type of squares or you can have a mix and match baby quilt with a variety of square patterns. Both are lovely.
Just roll the blankets up into tight rolls. Then place them in a circle on something solid. Do this for two or three tiers. You can tie them in place with pretty ribbon. Then add some rattles, baby toys tied to the "cake". It makes an adorable and useful baby blanket gift. To keep this gift in a reasonable price range you can get soft fleece blankets really cheap at a dollar store.
Blanket Quilt We have a wonderful family tradition of everyone making at least one homemade gift for Christmas to give another family member. My children have all made at least one blanket to give a family member. The fabrics are fun to choose and put together as we think of the personality of the family members. We have a daughter very much into music so there are always musical motif fabrics in her quilts, a son who loves insects so a quilt with ants or other insects are often made for him. There is the wonderful John Deere fabrics to make beautiful quilts. If you have a hobby or interest there is sure to be a fabric just right to personalize your blanket.
With a memory book you need to make a decision at what point you will pass it on to your child. You can avoid this decision by having two memory books - one for you to keep always and one for your grown-up child. Another way to do it is to wait until your adult son or daughter seems to be settled in their first house after college or after their marriage or first child.
First up is the baby quilt or blanket. Useful most of the year, it can be a little much for your bundle of joy during the summer. But for spring and fall, and especially winter, it will keep your new child toasty and snug. Most people will have more than one blanket for their child, either from previous children or from gifts, so this may not be too necessary.
For quilting beginners there are kits available that contain all of the material needed to create a quilt. These kits include step by step instructions to help you make the perfect hand crafted quilt for the new addition. Kits are also great because they help new quilters learn the basics of quilting, enabling them to create other, more personalized quilts in the future. While experienced quilters are often aware of the hard work and materials that go into creating the perfect quilt; creating the perfect baby blanket can still be difficult.
Next, pull out your tailor's chalk and a ruler. Lay the ruler on top of the topmost piece of fabric. Starting at the top, and measuring from the edge of the fabric, make a mark every four inches.
The construction of the blanket is the most time-consuming part. Many quilters actually pin the materials of the quilt together before they begin to sew so they can see what it will look like. This allows them to move and adjust the placement of stitching as needed. The construction process will differ greatly depending on the type of quilt you are making. Regardless of which style, it is important to take your time and pay attention to detail.
