I've been working on this quilt made out of Liam's old baby clothes for about a year now. I don't have much to show for it yet, but in my defense I only started making the squares this past fall. The first part was taking apart the clothes I wanted to use (I did save my favorites in the baby clothes stash), and this took a little while. Then it was cutting it all up into squares and rectangles and figuring out how I wanted to put them together. And since they're all mostly knit fabrics, I've had to iron on stabilizer to the back of each little piece to make it easier to sew.
One short cut I am taking though is using a kind of quilt as you go method. I found the idea in the book Patchwork Style: 35 Simple Projects for a Cozy and Colorful Life (Make Good: Crafts + Life)
which has some directions on sewing the pieces directly onto squares of batting. When you've completed your squares, you sew them together, add the backing, tie the squares, and bind the edges to finish.
The book calls for 30 squares for a large twin-sized coverlet, and I have seven so far. Yeah, I don't know if mine will be that large, but I do hope to complete it in time for Liam's birthday next month (the end of next month, thankfully). And if I don't finish it by then, well, then at least before baby number four arrives this summer!
Here are some of my favorite squares so far:
Dino
Froggie in my pocket--recognize this one Papa Dave?
New Orleans red beans & rice
Motorcycle hand-me-down
Wish me luck--I'm gonna need it! (And several more late nights!)
Labels: books, gifts, quilting, sewing, upcycle
