“Oh, Baby!” A Bevy of Baby Quilts
It has been a while since I’d made a baby quilt. Suddenly 2024 got started with three baby quilts stitched in the first three months as gifts for dear friends! Baby quilts, with their smaller sizes and potential for whimsy, present unique opportunities as quilting projects.
Smaller Size = Easier Efficiency!
Most baby quilts measure in the vicinity of 30” to 44” square, or a crib size of 45” x 60”, This smaller size allows every aspect of the project to go faster, including cutting, piecing, marking, layering, quilting and binding! There is satisfaction in seeing your design come together quickly since there is simply less work to do. Making a baby quilt can be a refreshing change if you have gotten bogged down in a major project. A weekend’s work and your baby quilt may be done!
A simple design done with an eye-catching fabric can result in a cute baby quilt that reaches completion efficiently! The Dumbo fabric in this baby quilt was showcased by using long rectangles of it, with borders of contrasting fabrics.
The finished quilt included intense free motion quilting to complement the simple piecing.
Experiment and Take Risks!
Here is a chance to try a new block pattern, applique stye or piecing technique like foundation piecing! Instead of committing to doing the new technique for a gigantic bed-sized quilt, you may be making just a few blocks. Even if you don’t love the results, you are freed from making them into perpetuity!
A baby quilt was the perfect size to make a mariner’s compass following Robin Ruth’s techniques. This smaller size was more manageable while allowing me to learn the techniques involved.
Cute Baby Fabrics!
Baby and juvenile prints are available in such a wide range of colors and styles! Pastels, brights, neons, cartoon and licensed characters, stripes, dots, geometrics…The list seems endless with possibilities! Including a few accent colors from the main prints as solids or tone-on-tone prints expands the kaleidoscope of colors and adds movement and depth to the baby quilt.
Baby quilt for a boy, 40 inches square, featuring a transportation-themed fabric and accent colors from the theme.
Easier Machine Quilting!
The smaller size of a baby quilt aids in moving it through the sewing machine for either free motion quilting or quilting with a walking foot.
Here is a chance to try new motifs and techniques like ruler quilting, knowing the spaces you are filling are a manageable size.
A Cherished Keepsake
A baby quilt is a unique gift made with love and patience. Often, the recipients declare the baby quilt will be a cherished heirloom, knowing it was made with all good wishes for their baby. The ultimate sharing of your quilting talent can be passing on an example of it to the next generation, wrapping a baby in love, warmth and security.
