The Appropriate Baby Showers Gifts
Embroidered Baby Blankets This gift will work whether you know how to embroider or not. You simply purchase a lovely baby blanket. This is key to this gift, make sure you get a really nice blanket. You then simply embroider (or hire someone to do it for you) the baby's name, date of birth, height and weight on the blanket. This will be a keepsake a new mom will cherish forever. She will also save that blanket for her child when they have their first.
A no sew blanket is a great option for people who just don't want to sew. It is easily made with only scissors and your own two hands. It simply involves tying two pieces of fabric, usually fleece, together. You can easily find instructions for making this type of blanket online.
Blanket Quilt The best fabric for simple quilt patterns is 100% cotton because it minimizes seam distortion, presses crisply, and is easy to quilt. Good simple quilt patterns specify quantities for 44/45" wide fabric unless otherwise noted. You'll need to allow for a little extra yardage to accommodate minor cutting errors and slight shrinkage.
Baby Quilts. Cradle and cot quilt sets have always been extremely popular so think of a twist to make yours standout such as, made to measure or individualized in some way. A new child is such a special event and nurseries are a very big part of getting ready with much thought going into the decorating and design.
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.
I then sewed all the squares together, in an alternating pattern. I now had the quilt top. I used soft fleece for the backing and put a piece of quilt batting in between the two. I found that if you spray an adhesive on the quilt batting it helped to keep the pieces from shifting too much. After pinning the quilt, I sewed a dark blue blanket binding around the outside edge. All that was left was to tie it. I used 6 strand embroidery floss, and hand knotted every corner except the corners at the blanket binding.
The next time you are trying to figure out just what to get for an upcoming baby shower, think of the impression your gift will make if it is personalized. Even if mom and dad have not announced the baby's name, you can still have the child's last name added to any gift you choose. If you decide on a baby blanket, quilt, or pillow, ask the parents what theme they have chosen so you can coordinate your gift.
You can either hand quilt or machine quilt your baby shower gift. Following the perimeter of the shape or you can choose to use a quilter's pencil and template and draw a design and quilt the design. Either way, you will be stitching through all three layers, which not only fasten the layers together, but create a design, as you quilt.