Not for Nap Time - July's Project Linus Blanket
Last month I realized I hadn't sewn anything for charity in a long time so I decided I would do a Project Linus baby blanket each month. Today I completed July's blanket.
I made my great niece a blanket when she was a baby. I always use bright colors because that's what I like. Her mom told me to watch. She put the baby on the blanket and the baby went wild moving all over. She picked her up off the blanket and the baby was calm. She put her back on the blanket and the baby went wild again.
It was then I realized the colors were extremely stimulating for her. Now I give parents the warning - this blanket is not for nap time, it is for play time.
I finally decided the million embroidery designs (small exaggeration) I already have were not enough and went to one of my favorite sites and ordered Cute Animal Faces Applique but the other set Childrens Bible I already had. I used both in this blanket.
Whenever I do a baby blanket there never is a plan. I just know I am going to do 9 squares no smaller than 5 1/2" and I make the rest up as I go along. I wanted this quilt to have a dimensional effect so I used cuddle fleece as my applique fabric. When embroidering on fleece you need to a topper and when using it as the applique fabric it takes a lot more time.
I really loved the "messiness" around this one and was going to leave it until I remembered this quilt is intended for a baby or small toddler and they could easily pull the "messiness" away and stick it in their mouth.
Below are all the embroidery blocks.
After embroidery was complete I decided to cut my squares down to 8 1/2" but forgot the saying measure twice, cut once. The blank squares I accidentally cut 8 1/2" by 7 1/2". Before I went into full fledged panic I remembered it was my quilt and I could do whatever I wanted. I used some coordinating fabric to get it to the size I needed.
I stitched the blocks together to form the rows, then stitch the rows together. Afterwards I added 2 different strips around it to make it bigger.
I added batting and a backing fabric. I used basting spray and pins to hold the layers in place.
The very first quilt I made started falling apart after a couple of washings. One of the reasons was I did not use quality quilt fabrics. The other was I didn't "stitch in the ditch" to hold the seams together. I completely forgot that baby items get washed quite frequently so they need the extra reinforcing at the seams.
I chose one of my stitches on my machine, Sulky Cotton Blendable 12wt thread, and stitched in the ditch. Finally I cut away the extra batting and fabric and added the binding.
I made my great niece a blanket when she was a baby. I always use bright colors because that's what I like. Her mom told me to watch. She put the baby on the blanket and the baby went wild moving all over. She picked her up off the blanket and the baby was calm. She put her back on the blanket and the baby went wild again.
It was then I realized the colors were extremely stimulating for her. Now I give parents the warning - this blanket is not for nap time, it is for play time.
How I Did It
Everything came from my stash. I knew I wanted to do embroidery and I knew I wanted to use applique to start to use up my out of control scraps bag. I spent several hours looking at my embroidery designs trying to decide which ones to use.I finally decided the million embroidery designs (small exaggeration) I already have were not enough and went to one of my favorite sites and ordered Cute Animal Faces Applique but the other set Childrens Bible I already had. I used both in this blanket.
Whenever I do a baby blanket there never is a plan. I just know I am going to do 9 squares no smaller than 5 1/2" and I make the rest up as I go along. I wanted this quilt to have a dimensional effect so I used cuddle fleece as my applique fabric. When embroidering on fleece you need to a topper and when using it as the applique fabric it takes a lot more time.
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| With Topper |
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| With Topper |
I really loved the "messiness" around this one and was going to leave it until I remembered this quilt is intended for a baby or small toddler and they could easily pull the "messiness" away and stick it in their mouth.
Below are all the embroidery blocks.
After embroidery was complete I decided to cut my squares down to 8 1/2" but forgot the saying measure twice, cut once. The blank squares I accidentally cut 8 1/2" by 7 1/2". Before I went into full fledged panic I remembered it was my quilt and I could do whatever I wanted. I used some coordinating fabric to get it to the size I needed.
I stitched the blocks together to form the rows, then stitch the rows together. Afterwards I added 2 different strips around it to make it bigger.
I added batting and a backing fabric. I used basting spray and pins to hold the layers in place.
The very first quilt I made started falling apart after a couple of washings. One of the reasons was I did not use quality quilt fabrics. The other was I didn't "stitch in the ditch" to hold the seams together. I completely forgot that baby items get washed quite frequently so they need the extra reinforcing at the seams.
I chose one of my stitches on my machine, Sulky Cotton Blendable 12wt thread, and stitched in the ditch. Finally I cut away the extra batting and fabric and added the binding.
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| Quilt Back |
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