How to Make a Wall Quilt for a Baby's Room

Fabric stores are full of adorable nursery prints, perfect for making baby quilts. Nursery panels, or pieces of fabric with large pictures, are an easy way to make the centerpiece of a baby quilt, and they make a great focal point for a wall hanging. Alternatively, you can use a background fabric for the center and add appliqués to it using a pattern or your own design.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fabric
• Binding
• Batting
• Thread
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Pins
• Iron
• Sewing machine

Make a Wall Quilt for a Baby's Room

1. Pick out batting for the baby’s wall quilt. You may want to use a standard batting size, such as craft size (36 by 45 inches) or crib size (45 by 60 inches), or make a custom-sized wall quilt. Make sure the quilt will fit on the wall, above any furniture.

2. Choose a fabric for the center of the wall quilt. Make sure the center uses the colors and theme you want for the rest of the quilt, whether it’s pink or blue, pastels or bright colors.

3. Figure out how wide the fabric borders will need to be to make the center panel the size you want the wall quilt. For example, if you want to make a 36 by 45 inch quilt and your center panel is 30 inches square, you’ll need 3-inch borders for the top and bottom and 7 1/2-inch borders for the sides, plus seam allowance.

4. Choose fabrics for the borders that complement the center panel. The borders can be simple strips of a single fabric, or you can patch together several different fabrics to make the borders more interesting. Choose a fabric for the binding, or purchase ready-made quilt binding.

5. Pick out fabric for the backing. Since this fabric will be against the wall, it won’t show, so you may want to pick an inexpensive fabric. However, it should still complement the overall look of the quilt.

6. Wash, dry and iron all the fabrics. Trim the center panel if needed and cut the borders to the right size.

7. Pin each border piece to the center panel, with the fabrics' right sides together. Sew the borders to the center panel, then sew any seams between the borders. Press all the seams flat.

8. Spread out the backing fabric with the wrong side facing up. Lay the batting on top of the backing, then place the front of the quilt on top. Smooth out all wrinkles in the fabrics, then pin them together. Quilt the layers together.

9. Finish the edges of the baby quilt with a binding, and hang the quilt on the wall.

Tips & Warnings

• Warm & Natural or Warm & White batting works great for baby quilts, especially ones that will be hung on the wall, since it’s very flat and smooth.
• Use caution when working with scissors, pins, irons and sewing machines.

Resources

• Here are instructions for a cute baby quilt, suitable for hanging on a wall.