Quilts and quilting were not a tradition in the family I grew up in, so when my own first child came along, I was rather overwhelmed by the quilts that appeared from my husband’s side of the family.  It was a tradition I instantly took to heart!  Each blanket was not only beautiful, but useful, cozy and personalized.  I adore each and every one of them, and even now that the kiddos are in grade school, we use and admire them often.

Only a few years after my son was born, I was ready to try making my own for friends and relatives.  What I discovered was that gifting baby quilts was even more fun than receiving them.  I cherish the stories I hear back about the little ones adopting the blankets I have made as favorite lovies.  One special young friend took her baby quilt with her to Kindergarten for rest time.

That’s my story, and what has led me to build this site.  Stay and share your stories!

Elaine

After all, making a quilt takes hours, days, weeks, months and sometimes even years, so why not use whatever methods are available to shorten the overall time it takes to make the quilt, and thereby lengthen the time you have to enjoy the quilt?

That’s why quilters were very excited when the rotary cutter came on the scene. I can tell you that I was pretty excited.

Prior to owning a rotary cutter, I marked each piece of fabric with my cutting line, cut with a heavy pair of Gingher scissors, and it took hours and days to cut the fabric pieces for a small quilt, let alone a king size quilt.

The care and feeding of your rotary cutter is covered in a different article. Another important component of cutting with a rotary cutter is squaring up your fabric. And then there’s the other stuff that goes along with your cutter – mat and ruler. All of those topics are covered in other articles.

This article is just for How to Cut

Folding your Fabric for Cutting Strips

This first cut is one of the reasons it is a good idea to get a tiny bit of extra yardage when you shop. Also, I never buy anything less than ¼ yard; and generally not less than ½ yard. The reason is that when you wash the fabric, it tends to change shape a little bit – how much depends on the particular fabric. If you have ? or ¼ yard, after washing, it may be impossible to get even one strip that is straight.

As you line up your ruler on the fabric to cut off the end, it’s a good idea to pick a spot on the mat that has grid lines where you are going to cut. That way, you can line up the edge of the ruler with a grid line to have just one more check to be sure your cut will be straight.

Now, the cut!

Now you have a straight edge and you’re ready to cut your first strip.

The First Strip of Fabric

All of your strips will follow the same process. Line up your fabric between two gridlines on the mat.

Then measure your fabric and cut a strip. Well, there are a few more details I can provide!

Whether I use my 3” wide ruler or my 6” wide ruler depends on how wide my strips will be. That is because I use my ruler to measure the strip – not the grid lines on the mat.

Is your Strip Straight – or does it have Weird Bends?

The only thing left is to be sure that the strip is really straight. Once it is completely cut, unfold it and hold it by one selvedge edge, letting the other selvedge edge drop toward the floor. Now inspect it – is it straight? Or are there some weird bends in it?

If there are weird bends, it’s time to refold, straighten the fabric up and cut a skinny slice off the end, getting a straight cut. And then cut another strip. Sometimes it’s a good idea to cut a 1” strip (after you have cut off the raw edge) to check to see whether your strips will be straight.

The drawback to weird bends is that when you cut your squares or triangles or any other shape you cut from the strip, your patches will end up misshapen, and your quilt will suffer.

Trust me, time spent getting your patches cut straight will pay off big time as you sew your quilt top together. Also, a small amount of fabric thrown into the “save it for later” pile to make sure you get straight cuts, will also pay off.

Just another reason to get extra fabric!

Happy Quilting!

Penny is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

www.How-to-Quilt.com
Inspiration and Education for Beginning Quilters

www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com
Fast, Fun and Funky Quilts

www.Fabric-Postcards.com
Quilt Greetings Across the Miles

This article courtesy of http://www.How-to-Quilt.com.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

©2006, Penny Halgren

While these aren’t baby patterns specifically, the perfect choice of fabric can turn even the most simple block into a blanket your baby will love.  My personal easy favorite is the London Stairs 4 Patch below.  The wide strips lend themselves to busy or interesting fabric prints.

Just remember to keep contrast in mind!  Two fabrics of the same color or saturation will hide the pattern.  Look for companion fabrics (especially if they come in light/dark variations) to make choosing easy!  Or choose many different fabric prints, but remember to sort by light & dark and keep them partnered consistently.

Elaine

5 Quilt Blocks Made From Strips

It’s great fun to make quilt blocks using strips of fabric. One of the things that makes it fun is that it is easy.

Below are 5 different block designs using simply strips of fabric. Each block is simple to make. Just sew strips together, cut them off to the correct length, and then sew them together as patches to make the block.

Each block is defined as a four-patch, five-patch, or nine-patch, and the widths of the strips to sew and square patches to cut are written below the block.

Happy Quilting!

Penny is the author of 7 books for beginner quilters and a self-taught quilter of more than 25 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

www.How-to-Quilt.com
Specializing in Information for Beginning Quilters

www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
Where Quilters Connect

www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com
Fast, Fun and Funky Quilts

www.Fabric-Postcards.com
Quilt Greetings Across the Miles

This article courtesy of http://www.How-to-Quilt.com.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

©2007, Penny Halgren

Technorati Tags: 4 patch, 5 patch, 9 patch, strip blocks, strip piecing

Expert: Shelly Cordsen
Bio: Shelly Cordsen has been sewing and crafting for years. She offers classes around the Southwest demonstrating many different advanced techniques.
Filmmaker: Mike Phillips

Duration : 0:1:41

Technorati Tags: arm, baby, diy, fabric, frame, free, how-to, long, machine, pattern, quilting, supply, video

Technorati Tags: easybabyquilt, Episode19

Watch this charming video by author Jenny Wilding Cardon.  She shares her creation of the book with a charming and personal style.  All the patterns are featured in the segment.  I wanted to run out and make every one!  Enjoy!

Elaine

About the Book and the Video:

Welcome little ones to the world with the things they love best—bright colors, fuzzy textures, and wonderfully whimsical quilts! Use these portable project cards to whip up adorable designs in time for the baby shower.

• * Twenty quilts use quick piecing, simple appliqué, and frayed-edge techniques
• * Designs for boys and girls feature frogs, hearts, trucks, caterpillars, and more, plus a patchwork “I Love Mama” quilt
• * Project cards include step-by-step directions, full-color illustrations, and templates; a bonus card walks beginners through basic techniques Duration : 0:6:35

The Little Box of Baby Quilts
Order your copy now!

Technorati Tags: applique, baby, blankets, fuzzy, patchwork, quilt, quilting, quilts, shower

Rag quilts are constructed quite differently from traditional patchwork quilts.  Each patch is layered (and stitched together) as a complete sandwich before they are connected to the rest of the patches.  In the case of a denim rag quilt, the batting layer is omitted and sometimes the stitching step as well.  The edges of each patch are exposed onto one side of the blanket and allowed to fray, creating that soft, fuzzy look.

The real joy of the rag quilt is the variation that is possible within this very simple concept.  A beautiful and warm blanket can be made using a single fabric choice for the top and backing – the texture and dimension of the fuzzy edges provides all the interest needed.  Choose a soft pastel fairy flannel for that new baby girl you want to spoil, or a handsome green and blue homespun fabric for that little boy on the way.  It’s so easy, a formal baby quilt pattern isn’t really required:  just a sewing machine, a pair of scissors (or rotary cutter) and a lot of time to spend looking at fabrics in the fabric store! (although a pattern is helpful…here)

Add more color and dimension by adding more fabrics.  Chunky four- and nine-patch designs can be achieved with the right fabric selections.  Still not complex enough?  Slice some of those squares into triangles and piece contrasting fabrics together to form images and shapes.  Once the basics are in place, a rag quilt can demonstrate a custom look that any little one will love and appreciate.

One of my favorite rag quilts was for a fall baby.  I “cheated” and found a wonderful fat quarter fabric bundle with the perfect fabrics already coordinated and selected.  Since this new friend was going to be spending a lot of time in his “bucket” (aka his infant car seat) during the coldest time in the Midwest, I adapted the size of the squares to make a smaller, rectangular blanket, perfect for tossing over tummy and toes after getting buckled in.  Not only did the parents love having a blanket that wasn’t so bulky it kept slipping off, but the baby came to adopt the blanket as one of his favorite childhood loveys – no doubt, because it spent so much time covering him during those cold winter days.

Read here for a basic Rag Quilt Pattern, or check out this great book, but don’t hesitate to adapt and make it your own.  By choosing the perfect fabric or adapting the size to fit a unique need, a simple rag quilt pattern can become a super special and thoughtful gift.

Elaine

The first time I heard the term “Rag Quilting,” I though it had something to do with using big, long rags of fabric and somehow weaving them together to make a quilt.

Boy, was I wrong!

It turns out that rag quilting got its name from the ragged edges on the quilt. No doubt in my mind that this quilt design was created by a quilter as a variation of a Quilt as You Go kind of pattern – whether it was intentional or accidental is something only that quilter knows.

Wide seam allowances are common for rag quilting – usually at least 1.” So, if you would like each block to be an 8” square when finished, you should cut 10” squares of fabric and 7¾” batting or flannel.

To make a rag quilt, you take 2 squares of fabric (could be triangles or any other shape, but squares are most common), and a piece of batting for each block in your quilt. You could use a piece of flannel instead. The batting or flannel should be cut about 1¼” smaller than the squares of fabric.

Place one square of fabric right side down on your table. Place the piece of batting or flannel in the center of the fabric. And then place the other piece of fabric right side up on top of the batting. You now have a stack with 3 layers, and the right sides of the fabric are facing out.

Stitch through all of the layers, to secure them in place. Usually these squares are machine stitched, using a simple straight stitch, making an X through the square. To do that, you begin in one corner and stitch to the opposite corner. Take your square out of the machine, and repeat the process on the other corner. You could do some fancy quilting in each block if you would like.

Continue this layering and stitching for as many squares as you would like – depending on how large you would like your quilt to be.

Once you have all of your squares/blocks stitched, it is time to begin to sew them together to make your quilt.

The process is the similar as if you were sewing blocks together to make a quilt top, with just a slight twist or two. Take two blocks and place them WRONG sides together. Stitch them together using a 1” seam allowance. Sew the seam along the entire edge of the fabric, and do not backstitch.

Sew the blocks in each row together. Now you have a bunch of rows of blocks with all of the seam allowances facing to one side (usually the front side).

Once that is done, open the seam allowances, and sew the rows together, continuing to place the WRONG sides of the fabric together, so your seam allowances will face the top (right side) of the quilt.

After all of your blocks are sewn together, clip the seam allowances – that is what makes the “ragged” edge, or fringe. Take a very sharp pair of scissors and cut about ½” into the seam allowance, making sure not to cut into the stitching. Make these slices about ¼” apart from each other. These slices are from the edge of the fabric toward the stitching that holds the seams together.

Once all of the seams are clipped, shake your quilt out to remove as many of the loose threads as possible, then wash the quilt and place it in the dryer. This will cause the clipped seam allowances to fringe even more.

And, now you’re done!

Read here for more Tips for Maiking Rag Quilts.

Find a complete Guide for making a Rag Quilt in a Weekend!

Happy Quilting!

Penny is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

www.How-to-Quilt.com
Inspiration and Education for Beginning Quilters

www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com
Fast, Fun and Funky Quilts

www.Fabric-Postcards.com
Quilt Greetings Across the Miles

This article courtesy of http://www.How-to-Quilt.com/.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

©2006, Penny Halgren

If you have never quilted with flannel, there are a few tips worth knowing before your first flannel quilting project.

When buying flannel, roll a little off the bolt for closer observation. If you stretch it out and hold it up against light, you can see any thin spots that might weaken the integrity of the fabric.

Some thin spots are okay, but take not of how many you see in the area you have pulled off. A flannel fabric that has too many weak spots to cut around will only ruin your quilting project if a thin spot works its way accidentally into your project.

It seems as though flannel that is printed is stiffer than woven flannel. The answer for this is that the dyes used in the printed flannel add thickness to the fabric. If you don’t know how to tell whether flannel fabric is printed or woven, it’s very easy.

Just look at the back side of the flannel. If it is woven, the pattern will look the same on the back as it does on the front side of the fabric. The back side of printed fabric will look as though there is a design on one side that does not show totally on the back.

Woven fabric frays much easier than printed fabric because the dyes help hold some of the fray down.

Flannel varies by manufacturer. Always wash and dry your flannel before starting your project. Use the warmest settings possible considering the color of your flannel fabric on both your washer and drier.

Some flannel shrinks as much as 5 percent. It’s best to preshrink your fabric instead of getting it all done then having it shrink. Finish the pre-preparation work by sizing your flannel fabric.

Flannel frays easily, which is great for rag quilt projects, but not so great for other quilt piecing projects. To accommodate the fray possibility, cut your pieces a little larger to allow for a bigger seam allowance.

For instance, instead of the typical one-quarter inch seam allowance, consider bumping the allowance up to one-half inch. Press your seams open when you piece with flannel, too.

If you are using flannel for backing of your quilt project, consider running around all the edges of the fabric with an over lock or serging stitch first. This will help prevent fraying around the edges of your backing

If you are using your machine to piece or quilt your flannel fabric projects, you will need to keep your machine clean. Flannel creates lots of fuzz that can build up on your machine.

Keep your small machine brush handy and keep the flannel dusted out as you work. You will also need to change your needle periodically for the same reasons. Plus, flannel tends to dull needles quickly.

Rag quilts plump up beautifully when flannel fabrics are used. To make snipping the fabric easier, use spring loaded snippers instead of traditional scissors.

The spring loaded snippers fit easily into the palm of your hand and use a motion more like squeezing a stapler than traditional scissor cutting.

If you have a reasonably large project to snip for ragging, regular scissors will make your hands cramp and ache quickly. Keep your snippers sharpened to avoid achy hands, too.

If you are working on a rag quilt project using flannel and are not happy with the amount of fraying you get after a washing and drying cycle, check the quilt to see if you have made enough snips in the seams.

Generally, the snips cut into the seams should be made at about every one-quarter inch. If your cuts are already spaced at quarter inch intervals, continue washing and drying the quilt until you get the desired fraying results.

The project will plump more with each cycle through the washer and drier.

Flannel is my favorite fabric to use for baby quilts.	T-shirt quilt made with flannel in addition to the t-shirts.

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren

www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

©2009, Penny Halgren
Penny is a quilter of more than 27 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

This article courtesy of http://www.How-To-Quilt.com/. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

Easiest Pattern #1

• * One yard of printed fabric, one yard of solid or complementary fabric for backing.
• * Sandwich and pin, then stitch around the print designs for the quilting.
• * Bind. (Note: you may choose any size fabric!  Smaller for dolls or car eats, larger for crib size)

Easiest Pattern #2

An even easier version of the whole-cloth idea is to avoid binding and quilting altogether and simply assemble the layers “pillow-case” style, turn inside out, and then knot.  One of my favorite quilts for my son was this style with a fantasic funny computer print fabric.

• * One yard of printed fabric, one yard of solid or complementary fabric for backing. 
• * Stack and pin the layers as such:

1. Top fabric, print side UP.
2. Backing fabric, print side DOWN (pretty sides facing each other)
3. Batting on top.

• * Sew three layers together around the edges leaving at least three inches open along one side.  Note that batting sometimes catches on the foot, so watch carefully.
• * Trim the edges to 1/2″ from your seam.
• * Reach into the hole you have left, between the top and backing fabric, and grab the opposite seam.
• * Gently pull the quilt inside-out.  Your print fabrics should be right side out, and the batting should be inside.
• * Smooth the layers and press the outside seam flat if you wish.
• * Hand stitch up the hole to complete the seam.
• * Now take 2-3 strands of Embroidery floss (or yarn) and knot together the three layers in a grid pattern, at least every six inches.

Easiest Pattern #3

Finally, a pre-printed fabric panel can offer the look and complexity of a pieced quilt-top, or the detail of a framed picture on the wall, without piecing or embroidery at all.  Panels come in designs from the wildly creative to beloved trademarked characters such as Pooh and Peter Rabbit.  They can look like complete quilts with false patchwork and borders, or they can look like pictures cut out of a child’s book. 

Very often, a panel will be partnered with theme fabrics that make selecting backing or borders (should you choose to add your own) easy and even fun.  Some panels even provide chalk markings for quilting suggestions.

• * One printed fabric panel, one matching length complementary or matching fabric for backing.
• * Sandwich and pin, then quilt.
• * Bind.

Some tips to consider when quilting a pre-printed panel:

1. Study your design.  If the pattern mimics piece quilting, be sure to quilt on the faux “seams” to enhance the illusion of piecing.
2. If there are areas of blank space within your panel, use those for creative quilting.  Sew a “rainbow” for example in the empty sky of a Noah’s Ark panel, for example.  Add a quilted carrot to your Peter Rabbit panel.  Not only does it make the quilt come alive with the theme, your special child will have fun “finding” those hidden pictures as they grow.

The most important step in creating that very first special Baby Quilt is to just put your foot out!  My first quilt was loose, my stitches uneven, the binding a little lumpy.  But the little one who received it proved to me the truth of the phrase “It’s the thought that counts.”  I had chosen the fabric very carefully and my friend was touched by the theme that was special to our friendship.  The little one who loves that quilt doesn’t notice the lumps or uneven stitches.  She just knows it was made by someone who loves her.  Happy quilting!

Elaine