7 Great Ideas Discovering That Perfect Baby Gift
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.
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.
Lay out of the quilt: Lay the quilt backing out on a flat surface (such as a bed) and then place the rows sewn together on top of it. This way you can visually see how long to make your rows and also see how you would like to arrange these rows. After you have decided - sew these rows together. Iron the seams open.
Blanket Quilt Have you ever needed to throw together a quick quilt? Many quilting pros laugh at the notion, but sometimes we need a quick gift to give and want to make it personal. Lap quilts and baby quilts are very easy to create on an embroidery machine.
When you are in the midst of selecting the blankets, you must avoid those poorly made products. You are reminded to choose products which come with high threat count. In order to minimize down leakage, you need to get a blanket with a thread count of at least 220. At the same time, you are reminded to focus on the stitching. It will be better for you to pick those blankets with regular V stitching, box stitching or quilt squares. Besides, it is also important for you to feel the materials personally when you shop around. Don't be shy to test the products. You are advised to feel the blankets with your fingers and play with the materials. If possible, you should hold each blanket against your face to find out how soft and warm it is before you purchase. Make the selection carefully.
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.
Shortly after her death I came across the quilt that she made for my mother a few years before losing her eyesight. Suddenly it began to dawn upon me. When I looked at the quilt, I did not see a blanket. Instead, I saw a scrapbook made from material. It was as if, by looking at the quilt, I was paging through my family album. I remembered the times when we baked cookies with my mother, the times when my sisters and I played with our tea-set, the first "Superman"-movie I saw with my dad, my first day at school, the visits we had with our grandparents and many other special memories. Each memory was carefully interwoven into this quilt.
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.
