Keep Your Handmade Quilt Beautiful

One nice thing about down throw blankets is that they have natural oils in them. These oils keep the material warm. The feathers are also kept soft and fluffed up without clumping. Therefore, washing the blanket should be done carefully. The blanket shouldn't be washed a little too often as it might wear off the natural oils. It's best to use detergents that are chemical free. Of course, don't send the down throw blanket for the dry cleaners because the chemicals used there would surely leave a stain on it.

Decide the amount of usage the baby quilt will receive and how often it will be cleaned or laundered. If the project will be a wall hanging, more intricate patterns could be considered as opposed to a child's personal blanket that will be well-loved.

When people were married quilts were gathered and packaged to present to the new couple. This helped the new household and took a large burden off the new wife who would be busy adjusting to new duties as the lady of a household.

Blanket Quilt Baby Blanket Cake Diaper cakes are all the rage, cloth diapers are gaining steam and they make a cute cake when all rolled up. You can do the same thing using baby blankets. This can also be a relatively inexpensive gift. You can find fleece baby blankets at most dollar type stores. You will also need some rattles and other baby toys.

Always use the low setting on your dryer. It is okay to hang your quilt outside for a short period of time, or you can spread it out flat to finish drying. Make sure it is completely dry before folding or storing.

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.

Here is a basic Crazy Quilt pattern you can use to try your hand at crazy quilting. Just remember that you can do this many different ways, and that this is only meant as a suggestion.

A century ago, cigar companies tied a bright colored silk ribbon around a bundle of cigars. Women stitched them together with black or colored embroidery floss stitches onto a fabric foundation block. They were not cut or curved, but placed side by side. Cigar company ribbons had fancy logos and used attractive fonts in black ink on yellow or orange ribbons. The various advertising on the ribbons added decoration to the quilt block. Green, pink and purple ribbons were occasionally used in the block designs, signifying a rare cigar.