Grey & White Gingham Baby Quilt

If you've read the blog before, you might have noticed how much I enjoy sewing baby quilts.  There is something so fun about making a homemade gift for a new baby.  I made this quilt last fall for my friend Kelly who had a baby boy.

I used two different shades of grey and a white fabric to create the gingham pattern for the front of the quilt.  Gingham is so popular right now, and it was fun to create the pattern out of squares of fabric.

For the back, I used Michael Miller's 'Zoology' pattern.  I've always liked this pattern - I just think it is an adorable fabric!

I kept the binding simple, and used a navy and white polka dot pattern.

I took these photos back in September.  Boy, do I wish it was still that warm outside right now!  As I type this post, it is a cold January day and it is only 11 degrees!

I hope your 2016 is off to a great start!

Gingham Baby Quilt

Happy Friday!  Are you glad the weekend is almost here?  I sure am!

I made this quilt earlier this Spring for a friend who had a baby girl.  I made a quilt for her first baby ( see it here ) when she was pregnant and made it gender neutral since she didn't find out what she was having.  This time, I waited until the baby was born.  I'm glad I did - I was able to go all out and make it super girly!

Sewing for babies is one of my most favorite things.  The items are small, and the best part - babies don't notice your mistakes! 

I adore this tulip fabric.  I found it at my local fabric store during Tulip Time. I thought it was the perfect backing for the pink gingham front. 

This quilt was easy to sew and would be a perfect quilt for beginners. 

Happy weekend!

A Quilt for Baby Charlie

 

When one of my best friends was pregnant, and found out she was having a boy, I got to work sewing him a baby quilt.  I already had some of the boy themed fabric and couldn't wait to use it.

 

This Alexander Henry print with the animals is one of my favorites.  Isn't it darling?

 

 

I didn't have a pattern for this quilt, but the idea came from this one by Kelly of Irene Design that I have pinned on Pinterest.  I figured out the size I wanted for my finished quilt, and worked backwards from there to figure out what size squares to cut.  I ended up using 4-1/2" squares for a finished quilt size of 35" x 42".  If you are looking for an easy way to make triangles for a quilt like this, follow this method.  So easy!

 

 

I started by laying out the squares in a pattern that looked good, and then sewed the rows together, left to right.  Once all the vertical rows were sewed, I sewed the horizontal rows together. 

 

 

The view from my sewing table at the rental house as I was sewing this last spring. 

 

 

I didn't finish the quilt before the baby was born, so baby Charlie got his initials embroidered on the back of the quilt.  I love that I was able to incorporate them.

 

 

And the finished quilt...

 

 



 

 

I really love making quilts for babies - there is something special about sewing for a new little one.  See my other baby quilts here and here.

 

Hopefully, Baby Charlie will love his quilt as much as I loved making it. 

A Quilt for Baby S

I recently made a baby quilt for one of my very best friends, Sandy.  She is expecting her first in a few short weeks.  San and I  {and our friend Ann} have known each other since our freshman year of High School.  I can't believe we were only 14 when we met.  It's so exciting to see her enter this new phase in her life.

San & her husband aren't finding out what they are having, so the most challenging part about his quilt was deciding on a gender neutral theme.  I decided on grey, aqua, orange, and yellow and started searching for fabric.  No green - can you believe it?! 

I don't have exact names of fabrics, but I purchased almost all of the fabric from Fabric Worm in their Children's Fabric section.  I just fell in love with the colors and patterns!

For the front of the quilt I followed the same pattern I used for the last baby quilt I made.  The pattern was designed by Vanessa Christenson of V and Co. and was featured on Moda Bake Shop.   You will find directions and templates for the letters there.  I altered the size of my quilt a bit, but followed the idea of her design for the front of the quilt. 

One note about the letters - I used Heat n Bond Feather Lite iron-on transfer.  I hated it.  The letters did not stick and I ended up having to redo most of them.  I will definitely not use it again.  I've never had any trouble with the other Heat n Bond iron-on adhesives I've used, so next time I will be sticking to them!

One thing I am really disappointed about - I used a pale yellow for the word 'sleep' and it's very hard to see!  You don't even notice it in the photo above.  I wanted to use an orange, but could not find the right shade, so I went with yellow.  Pretty bummed about it!  Luckily, I don't think Baby S will notice.

 

And the back of the quilt:

 

 

I didn't follow a pattern or the back, just had fun piecing different size strips together.  I knew that I wanted a full panel of the fabric below....Isn't it adorable?  The pattern is Jay-Cyn Designs for Birch Fabrics, pattern: Commute, Organic; color: To Work.  Find it HERE.

 

 

I used free motion quilting techniques for the quilt.  Free motion quilting is a lot of fun.  You put down the feed dogs on your sewing machine and you move the fabric with your hands to create the quilt pattern.  If you'd like to learn more, this is a great post from Oh, Fransson.  There is also a very helpful series on YouTube.

 

 

 

 

 



The only quilt batting I've ever used is from Warm & Natural.  I really like the feel of it and it washes up really nicely and gives the quilt a pretty puckered texture.

 



 



 

 

I had a lot of fun sewing this - I can't wait to make another quilt.

 

Here's a picture of us at Sandy's shower:

 

{ Ann, San, me }

 

I can't wait to meet Baby S!