Baby Linens In Your Nursery
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.
This caused most families to start saving bits and pieces of scrap material. It was not uncommon to see bins of random materials scattered in small piles of the early colonial homes as they hoped to gather enough to eventually construct a quilt.
Though quilting was initially carried out to provide warmth and protection, today's quilts have become pieces of art as well as treasured heirlooms. Some have been passed down throughout family and other collected at auctions and flea markets. The have a timeless beauty of their own.
Make bookmarks. Cut the block into strips about three inches wide. Fuse them to another piece of fabric cut the same size. Hot glue rick rack around the edges for a no-sew finish. Crafty people comfortable with sewing may use a zig zag or satin stitch to finish them out. If hand stitching, use a blanket stitch to complete the edge.
Blanket Quilt To choo-choos, airplanes, alphabet letters, boats and duckys are often a favorite baby quilt patterns. The patterns give the quilter a general idea of what they need and also detailed instructions on how to complete the project. If you've never attempted to make a quilt yourself you may even want to take a lesson but you can usually find at a local community center or junior college.
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.
Dress up an old jacket or cardigan by heat bonding a block onto the center backside. Use fabric paint to trim out the edges of it or LeoBedding add an anti-fray product to the edges. If you are accustomed to sewing, add a zig zag or satin stitch to secure the edges and add a nice finish.
The method above uses machine embroidery on relatively small quilts. Larger quilts can be done the same way or may be quilted with machine embroidery by individual quilt blocks. Experiment to decide which method is easiest for you and remember that the machine embroidery quilting method may change with each unique project.
