Wednesday, April 30, 2008

stripes baby quilt instructions

Your kit should contain 18 strips of varying color and width, one large piece of fabric for backing, and 4 or 5 2.5 inch strips for binding.

Step 1: Lay out the 18 strips in an arrangement that you like.
Step 2: Using a quarter inch seam allowance, sew the strips together, starting with the first two.Press seams to one sideRepeat until all strips are sewn together and seams are pressed.

You have now finished the quilt top! I told you it was easy!
Step 3: Trim your quilt top. Try to make the top square. Size is up to you, but remember to measure the top against the backing fabric that is included in your kit. I trimmed off about 6-8 inches.
I like to incorporate my trimmings into the back of my quilt. (If you don't have a rotary cutter and acrylic ruler, just mark your quilt using a straight edge and pencil, then cut with scissors.)
Now you are ready to "quilt" your quilt. :). There are several options, take it to a local quilt shop and have them quilt it for you, or you can do it yourself. If you would like to do it your self, keep reading to see how I do it.


Step 4: Make your quilt sandwich. Layer your backing, batting and quilt top. I like to use cotton batting. Hobbs Heirloom and Warm and Natural are my favorites, but feel free to use what you like.
This is where I usually trim excess fabric and batting. Try to leave about 2-4 inches on all sides. Your quilt can shift while you are quilting it, and the excess gives you some breathing room.

Step 5: Baste the quilt. The most common way to baste a quilt is with safety pins. I prefer the quick and easy way...basting spray. My favorite brand is Dritz, but most work fine. Just be sure that it washes away! DO NOT use permanent adhesive!

I like to baste in my garage. It eliminates worry about getting sticky stuff inside my house. I lay out an old sheet to keep my quilt clean, then I put the batting on the sheet.
I put the backing on first. I roll it up inside my house,
I spray my batting--the entire width, and about 2-3 feet of the length. Next lay your roll where you have just sprayed.
Now is the important part. You want to make sure there are NO puckers or wrinkles. Take your time unrolling. Smoothing from the center out. If you have a pucker, unstick it and smooth it out.
Keep spraying and rolling until you finish the back of the quilt.
Flip the batting/backing over and repeat with your quilt top, take extra care with the top to not stretch your fabric making your seams wonky.
Your quilt is now basted!

Step 6: Next we quilt. Starting in the center of the quilt and working outward, I quilt "in the ditch" of my horizontal seams.

Once the horizontal stripes are finished, I quilt vertical stripes. I do not even mark my lines. I completely free hand them. They aren't perfectly straight, but I like that look. If you like perfection, be sure to mark lines on your quilting using chalk or a water soluble fabric pen.

Step 7: Once the quilting is finished, trim the excess batting and fabric from your quilt. (pictures coming soon)

Step 8: Attach Binding! We are almost done. Pictures coming soon! I like to use Heather Bailey's directions for binding.

Step 9: Clean up the quilt. Snip off the threads that hang around, and wash and dry your quilt (I use a delicate setting for washing, and low heat for drying), it will have a wonderful soft and puckery feel.

22 comments:

  1. Yeah! I am so glad I discovered your blog! You definitely make quilting look so easy! Yeah!

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  2. Well, heck! I never thought about ROLLING the backing and top before spray basting. You're a genius!

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  3. Hi! This is a great quilt!!! And the tutorial was so helpful. I found it because I Googled "how to make a striped quilt." :-p I'm making one for my neighbor who just had a baby boy yesterday morning...two weeks early, so I have to hop to it! Anyway, you totally nailed EXACTLY the type of quilt I was wanting to make: horizontal strips with different widths and a very "homemade" look to it.

    Just wondering, have you finished yours yet? I'd love to see the end result...you are VERY talented.

    PS-Here is another really great step by step for binding with real photos of each step...a lifesaver: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiltlady50/sets/72157603685607210/detail/

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  4. Thanks you SOOOOOOO much for this post -- I've been wanting to try the basting spray, since safety pinning all 3 layers turned into a real train wreck for me. It's great to have it all written out for all to see. Thanks again

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  5. I'm curious what your method is for cutting the strips. That's the hard part that always takes me forever. Are they all the same width, or just random?

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  6. I cut random widths--ranging from 1.5in to 5in.

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  7. Gorgeous! And I love the baby feet in the stroller helping you out in the garage.

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  8. Thank you so much for posting the tutorial, just what I needed this summer. Love, love, love your blog and beautiful quilts. Hedy King

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  9. oh thank you so much for sharing this. I am a beginner quilter just in the process of making my first quilt-a teeny tiny pram quilt. thanks for a great tutorial.

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  10. I'm a newbie to quilting i love your spray adhesive idea. I think ill try it on my next project

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  11. hi greetings frm singapore. i thought i am alone, i didnt free-hands exactly like you without proper measurement! I felt more confident. Thank you!

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  12. i just had to tell you i marked this page and come back to it to look at this quilt often - i love it! it is such a happy little quilt. one day i will actually get around to making one... :)

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  13. that is an easy and fast way to make a quilt, and if you combine good fabric cuts of different colors or designs, the quilt would look so much better!

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  14. I baste all of my quilts the same way! I haven't thought of rolling the fabric up like that though; i am always trying to balance the folds of the fabric on my arms. We I saw that I thought oh neat I could use an empty tube from the batting by the yard or home decor fabric tubes. I know JoAnn's has a few so I will check that out!

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  15. Lovely. :) Which sewing machine did you use to make this? Does one require a quilting machine or a quilting foot to make this?

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  16. hi kay, I just used a walking foot for the quilting. Not absolutely necessary, but definitely makes it easier.

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  17. Hi. My daughter is getting into sewing and loves to make quilts (well very basic quilts). I would love to show her this tutorial but I am completely sewing illiterate. On the step where you do the vertical lines you say you do it free hand (now here's the dumb question): do you still use the machine or sew by hand?

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  18. to a stone gatherer...

    I quilt also. I'm pretty sure she means she uses the machine to freely make straight sew lines without using fabric chalk or whatnot to mark the lines beforehand. Then the machine sewed lines are not exactly straight but pretty close. I rather like that look, too. It gives it the "homemade" look. :) Hope this helps.

    Note: You can hand-quilt it but that takes alot more time. If you're going to hand quilt, I would recommend doing a cool design, not a straight line. That's what sewing machines are for.

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  20. Hello! I love this baby quilt, too. Although it has the "random look" to it, a closer look reveals a much more methodical layout as far as design and color choices. Each strip complements the previous one; while the backing complements all of the strips on the front. Really great job. I'm going to bookmark this tutorial as well!

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