How to make a Child's Quilt out of Baby Clothes

Use your baby's outgrown clothing to make a child-sized quilt that they (and you) will always treasure. I made this quilt with no previous quilting experience but with some sewing experience, so this is not a typical quilting procedure. This is a project that anyone with some sewing experience could complete.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Old baby clothes
• Polyester rolled batting for quilts
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Soft fabric for backing
• Embroidery thread and needle for tacking

1. Pick out at least 30 of your child's baby outfits you are willing to cut into squares for the quilt. Newborn outfits you can usually use to determine the size of your squares, my quilt was made with 48 six inch squares in a 8 squares down by 6 squares across layout, that made the quilt big enough to use on a child-sized bed. You can use fronts and backs of the outfits. The colors don't have to match, but you can tie the overall colors together with a coordinating backing; I used blue plaid flannel for the backing on the quilt shown.

2. Stitch the squares facing right sides together using a standard seam, making sure your edges are even since you will likely be sewing very different fabrics together. It makes it easier to sew a chain of squares first (6 squares across), then once you have the chains of squares sewn, sew the chains together to create the top of your quilt.

3. Once you determine the size of your quilt, cut your pre-washed backing material to fit the dimensions of the sewn squares plus four inches on each side. Also at this time, lay out your polyester quilt batting and cut it to fit the quilt squares.

4. Pin all three layers together, folding in the four inch edges once to make an even edge and again to meet the top of the quilt. Make sure to pin between each square through all three layers so the batting doesn't slip when you are sewing. I found pinning with safety pins kept me from getting poked when I was sewing the quilt.

5. Sew along the backing edge with the backing side down. Once you have sewed around the edges, you can start stitching the individual squares to help secure the batting to prevent bunching.

6. Once all the stitching is done, use an embroidery needle to sew a loop of embroidery floss in the center of each square through all three layers to add a decorative touch.

Tips & Warnings

• You can cut squares from the front of an outfit, I even cut the square from a front with snaps. Just make sure to sew closed any openings for your child's safety.
• Add some fun by including pockets on the quilt so that your child's lovey can sleep with them in their blanket. Just use a smaller square on top of a square, fold down one side for a nice edge and sew on the three sides with a zig-zag stitch for decoration.
• Since most baby clothes are already pre-washed, make sure to wash your backing material first so you won't have much shrinkage once you wash your completed quilt.

[mistymq]

on 9/4/2008 This is so awesome. My husband, who is in his 40s, has a quilt his mom made for him as he was growing up. It means soooo much to him because she died in his early 20s. What a great memory for him.