The Best Baby Shower Gifts

The size of blanket that you will give will have to depend on the recipient. Smaller blankets are ideal for kids while large ones will be more appropriate for adults that usually have king size beds. Materials that are best for blankets are fleece, alpaca, merino wool, and cotton, to name a few.

The rectangle that will cover side five will be long, as it must extend beyond the fabrics on both angles 1 and 4. To add interest and create a more collaged look, consider the following options: Pieced rectangles, pieced and curved shapes, and pieced fans.

Now it is time to start the actual quilting process. You need a small set of scissors, Brightroomy 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.

Blanket Quilt Your baby shower gift will be complete when the edges are finished and the binding is sewn in place. Of the two types of bindings, crosswise grain and bias, the former is a good choice because there is less risk that a split would damage the entire side of the quilt. Crosswise strips also stretch well enough to curve when needed along the outer edge of the quilt.

First decide on the finished foundation (muslin) size for each block and cut the muslin one half inch larger than the desired finished block size. This allows for any puckering or tight tension variations that could draw up the size. You can always cut the finished piece down to the proper size later. Also remember that the finished block size in this case is the unfinished block size for your quilt. You will have to have a seam allowance to sew your blocks together into a quilt. A half inch should provide this necessary allowance.

Set your sewing machine to the standard seam allowance used for quilts, which is an exact quarter inch seam. One way to improve a block that is either too large or too small is to use the freezer paper method and square up the block before sewing it together. Gridded freezer paper makes the job easier, but the plain freezer paper will work to help make the block more even.

Seldom were cigar ribbon tops made into quilts with batting and back. Made with silk and unquilted, they were fragile, unlike the string and selvedge edge quilts. Mostly they remained as tops to cover tables, or they were made into pillows.

Quilting Fabric. You'll need two squares of fabric that are the exact same size. You can use any sized fabric you want, but these three sizes work best for a baby blanket or quilt.