Quilting A Blanket Easily
Clothes to use: Start with clean items. Besides the baby clothes you can use bibs, caps, socks, Halloween costumes, blankets, linens, special curtains and nursery items.
Blanket Quilt Now it is time to start the actual quilting process. You need a small set of scissors, quilt needles (these have a larger eye but are very sharp in order to go through all the layers), quilting thread, thimble and a very comfortable chair.
Because of their smaller size, baby quilts are much easier to make than a normal sized quilt, and can be put together more quickly. Consider using fabric scraps from another project, and simply cut them into blocks, or strips that you can easily match and piece together to produce a beautiful quilt for baby. By using flannel for your batting, the blanket that you quilt will be warm and cozy.
The common thread in string, selvedge edge, and cigar ribbon tops, is that their popularity came about at the time of an economic downturn or a War, or both. The materials used in each were throw-aways being put to use, as a quilt or decoration for women's homes, and they were there for the taking.
If you are better with a needle, you can quilt a blanket. Quilting is a little bit more complicated, unless you've done it before and are good at it. You can shoot for fleece cloth and make soft blankets or regular fabric and go for crazy colors and patterns. If you aren't good at quilting, you can even just take an ordinary blanket and embroider it yourself with the baby's name or a personal message.
Applique: Adding a name to this baby clothes quilt can be done at this time by appliqueing the letters directly on top of the clothing or appliqueing the name on a strip of material and then sewing the strip between your rows.
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.
