Quilting Memories For The Long Run

After the foundation piece has been completely filled with fabric strips, trim the block to the desired size. Press the block on both the front and back. Don't leave any loose pieces.

Blanket Quilt Another way to preserve memories is to make a memory quilt. A memory quilt can be a blanket or a wall hanging. You collect items of clothing as your child outgrows them. You cut the clothes into squares of the same size and save your collection until you have enough to make a blanket or wall-hanging. You can also use pieces of blankets or sheets. Be sure you cut a sample that is not worn thin. On blankets and sheets the outside edges are usually in the best shape. For clothing you would avoid the area covering the knees or the seat of the pants.

Use the tailor's chalk to draw lines connecting the marks at the bottom of the fabric to the marks at the top. You want the lines to be as straight as possible. To achieve this, take something long and flat (like a long piece of cardboard) and use it as a guide while you draw the lines.

If the boys are fond of video games, they can choose those with a Star Wars print. They may also have their quilts in checkered designs where the checks are patterned from a chess board or checkers and even monopoly. Or they could simply have prints of their favorite animals.

I cut the denim into 4 inch squares and lay them out on the floor until I get the look I want. If your are using child sized jeans you may want to make smaller squares or even alternate between a 4 inch square and one that is made of 4 squares, 2 inches wide. Be creative. Your quilt blocks can be triangles, Brightroomy diamonds or what ever shape you choose. It is your design so let your imagination run.

Now you need to sew it together with the batting and the backing. As you probably already know, a blanket isn't just made of one layer. You will have to sew it together and then stitch across the entire quilt to hold it all together. This is where you can get fancy and make pretty stitch designs. If you are looking to get this done fast, just do a basic straight stitch across the whole blanket. You will have to do this sewing by hand, so get a comfy position on your couch and get sewing!

The middle layer or the batting is the inner layer between the quilt top and the backing. The batting gives the quilt its thickness and strength, not to mention it's coziness. You can purchase batting by the yard or precut to fit different bed sizes. It's important to remember to follow the manufacturer's instructions for pre-treating and washing your batting.