Young House Love

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How To Make An Easy Baby Quilt

Here’s the story of how I made a cute little quilt for our baby boy on the way.

Baby-Quilt-Simple-Sweet

A few years ago I chronicled how my not-nearly-a-seamstress buns were compelled possessed to make a quilt for the bean.

Quilt Done2

And here I am a few years later (after a tornado of thread and a surprisingly successful sewing machine date) with another homemade quilt – this time for our little man.

Quilt17

I don’t think I would have been so into making him a quilt if Clara hadn’t grown so attached to hers. She not only has slept with it pretty much every night since I finished it…

Clara Quilt1

… but she brings it in the car for road trips, and even drags it downstairs to to the sofa for lazy Saturday snuggling.

Clara Quilt3

The sweetest thing about it is that John has told her a few times that mommy sewed it just for her, so every once in a while when she hugs me or kisses me goodnight she leans in and whispers “thank you for my beautiful quilt.” Yup, just typing that made me tear up. She’s the best.

So I wanted to make something for my little man to hopefully love just as much, but I thought it might be fun to try a different method this time. I hedged for a while, not really sure where to begin, and then I saw this awesome hand-stitched quilt and knew it was just the inspiration I was looking for (it’s by Citta Design, but sadly no longer for sale).

I love how charming that sweetly imperfect hand-done stitching is. Each line is irregular enough to clearly not be machine-made, and it feels so full of love thanks to those slightly varied dashes. So I decided to give it a try…

Quilt Detail

Here’s a list of my materials:

  • one square yard of white diamond-quilt fabric from JoAnn (the kind with a quilted cotton front and back with some thin batting sandwiched in the middle), which came to $4 after using a 40% off coupon that I googled for on my phone
  • 17 little packs of embroidery floss in a variety of colors from Michaels – like chartreuse, kelly green, pale green, teal, navy, and lime (I actually bought 5 of each of those colors for a total of 30 packs, but ended up returning 13 of them, so at 27 cents each, the 17 that I used rang in at $4.59)

Quilt2

  • a leftover pack of embroidery needles, which just look like giant sewing needles and can be threaded with embroidery floss instead of string (they were originally 99 cents at JoAnn when I bought them for a book project a few years back)
  • my sewing machine (I already had Oh Brother all loaded up with white thread)

All told, I spent under $10 to make this quilt (and about ten million love-filled man-hours spaced across a weeks’ worth of evenings, but we’ll get to that in a second). While I was pre-washing my quilt fabric (I thought it was best to let it shrink up before I embroidered it), my first step was just to decide what type of stitched pattern I liked best. I debated everything from evenly spaced lines like the ones in the inspiration image to some sort of diagonal or crosshatched design, but in the end, the idea of some simple stripes in varying tones of blue and green won out.

Quilt10

I just started from the left side of the quilt and hand stitched four different lines of embroidery floss – each one in a different color.

Quilt3

I made sure not to double up my thread (I kept it single like the inspiration quilt, which meant threading the needle like this with a little excess, but not looping it all the way down and knotting it like I do when I sew a button with regular thread).

Quilt4

After completing my first “stripe” (which was comprised of four different stitched lines that went from top to bottom) I used the diamonds on the quilted fabric to roughly space the next stripe about two diamonds away. That way I could keep the spacing somewhat even, although I did some of the stripes 4-stitched-lines wide and some of them 3-wide, just for variety. I really do love how the inspiration quilt is unmistakably done by hand – and it doesn’t hurt that I couldn’t make something look perfectly spaced if I tried.

The diamonds in the embroidery fabric also helped me keep my lines somewhat straight from top to bottom. For example, if I started one hand-stitched line at the peak of a diamond, as I stitched from the bottom of my fabric to the top, I made sure to connect each diamond peak as I went. This kept me from veering off too far to the right or left.

Quilt5

Now let’s talk about the time factor. You know I like to keep it real with you guys, and I’d never say “fast and easy” if something takes forever. Well, the good news is that this quilt is mad cute. The bad news is that it takes forever. I don’t know if I’m slow or just easily distracted by Housewives drama (I did it every night across about a week while sitting on the sofa watching TV), but my average was about 3-4 stripes (made up of either three or four colors) a night, which took about 2 hours.

So all told, this 16-stripe one-yard quilt (well technically there are 57 stripes, but they’re spaced to look like 16 thicker ones) took me around 11 hours in total (including one more hour spent hemming the outside seams with a sewing machine, which actually wasn’t too bad).

Another Corner Shot

Even though it took a while, it wasn’t one of those torturous projects that makes you want to poke your own eyeballs out (that’s painting blue trim or peeling wallpaper, FYI). It’s more like one of those relaxing repetitive motions you can do at night from the sofa, where your butt might be parked anyway. But instead of taking quizzes on Buzzfeed or scrolling around on Instagram, you get to be stitching something while snuggled under a blanket with your chihuahua and feeling pretty dang quaint about it.

Quilt7

As for how I knotted each stripe, I just tied off the top of each one with the thread still on the needle on the top edge of the back of the quilt. And then on the bottom edge I cut the embroidery floss off with about 7″ to spare so I could slip my needle back onto that end and knot it there as well. That left me with a seam full of knots like this along each edge (top and bottom) on the backside of the quilt.

Quilt9

Once I got about a third of the way done with my stripes (working from left to right), I started on the right side and worked from right to left to get about a third of the way done with that side. Then I bounced back and forth doing every other stripe on each side, as I got closer and closer to the middle of the quilt, which allowed me to space everything so it was somewhat symmetrical. It probably would have been just as easy to work from left to right and use that two-diamond spacing, but I might have had to trim off a few inches of the quilt at the end if everything didn’t line up perfectly, and I liked the idea of a square quilt.

Allow me to share this creepy low-lit iPhone pic to demonstrate how I sort of worked in towards the middle.

Quilt6

To hem the edges I broke out the ol’ sewing machine and said a few prayers to the sewing machine gods. I’m paraphrasing, but they were something like “please let me make it through this attempt without throwing this thing out the window or revealing my evil sailor-mouthed alter ego to my sweet husband in the next room.” Then I just folded each edge over in the back, took three deep cleansing breaths, and stitched them in that folded position.

Hem Machine1

This hid the knots on the top and bottom but there was still not a finished edge along the back hem, so I folded each of them over again and did one more stitch-session with each side for a nice finished look from the back and front. This is the front:

Hem Machine2

And here’s what it looks like from the back:

Quilt17

Lo and behold, I only broke two needles (that’s not a joke, I really managed to break two needles) but I think it came out really sweet.

Quilt Broken Needle

Can’t wait to meet this little bun and wrap him up with all sorts of love and quilt-y snuggles.

Quilt Detail

Right now it’s just chilling in the nursery, waiting for the big arrival.

Quilt16

Is anyone else sewing anything for their kiddos? Friends or relatives? Four-legged babies? Have you ever tried hand-stitching or embroidery? It’s oddly restful. Sort of like hand hypnosis.

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Comments

  2. hilary says

    Super cute! The first time you wash it,you might want to throw in one of those shout color catchers in with it judt in case the colors in the thread bleed. I’ve had a couple issues in the past with embroidery floss bleeding when washed for the first time.

    Reply

  4. Becky says

    So very sweet! Love it!

    You and I have a very similar relationship to our sewing machines. I pray all goes fine so I’m not throwing the project across the room as I did in high school. Some things never change. LOL

    Reply

  5. Marie says

    I ALWAYS break needles! I’m sewing right along then hear a clink, clank, crack! And there goes the needle and all I’m left with is a big blob of thread on the other side! I don’t even know what it is I’m doing wrong! Anyways…glad to know I’m not the only one!

    Reply

  6. Quiana says

    How precious that Clara thanks you like that! I say preschoolers have just enough cuteness to keep us from getting mad at them during their erratic behavior. Moments like this definitely make my heart melt with mine! On a similar/side note I too am expecting a boy in June and my girl then boy will be spaced like your kids. As a fellow blogger I think it’s so cool when you find another blogger family that is similar to yours (and it was a pleasure meeting you in NYC last year at the FLOR book signing!). It’s been such a joy and inspiration watching your family over the years and now I have my husband interested in your blog too (and the book which he’s read!). Wishing you a continued healthy pregnancy!

    Reply

  7. Jill says

    Making quilts is kinda like making a baby! It is an act of love that takes time, but is so treasured. My mom is a quilter (we call her Sheldon aka Big Bang because she is an efficient quilter that does crazy math to get the most cuts out of a piece of fabric). I have started making quilts for friends and family that are having babies and it is often the most treasured item they or their kids hold on to.

    Reply

  8. Joanne B. says

    They don’t call it “a labor of love” for nothing! Great job and ambition for someone relatively new to sewing. I loved your inspiration but also liked how you made it special for your boy. And how nice for Clara to see you working on this piece so she can know you worked on hers too- it will bond your family together and hopefully help ease any jealousy issues that may crop up if she begins to think the Barnacle is more special to you than she is, which is perfectly normal. Wanted to mention for your NEXT quilt (!) – look for bias seam binding in the sewing section of the craft stores. It is a pre-cut and folded strip of fabric that comes in lots of coordinating colors that you could use as a finished edge for the quilt. You just ‘sandwich’ the quilt in between the layers of the binding and machine sew a line all around to keep it all together and secure those knots inside. Great job! This is truly a beautiful gift- but I can’t help but see a pile of rags and threads in 10 years as your babe/toddler/child drags it everywhere!

    Reply

  9. Rachel says

    Such a beautiful quilt – your little guy will love it I’m sure :-)

    And you made me laugh about throwing the machine out the window hahaha that’s hilarious (and totally understandable!!)

    Reply

  10. Nicole says

    Aw, this is adorable! Our baby #2 is due in May, and I think I might try this for him/her! I like the hand-stitch in front of the TV idea- I just discovered that BH 90210 is on Amazon Prime!

    Reply

  11. Karen says

    Kudos to you on the quilt! While I have no children I have made many quilts for my friends babies. It’s always fun to experiment. I wish I could send an attachment to you of the last one I did. Super cute and easy. Designer fabrics help too!

    Reply

  12. Erin says

    I did some cross-stitching back in the fall. It is strangely relaxing. These days I am sewing a lot more and it is so much fun. Plus, I feel like I did something with my night, you know other than watching TV and playing games on my Kindle.

    Reply

  13. Bethany says

    Love the quilt! Great idea with embellishing already quilted fabric! I knit a lot (another great in front of the TV at night bonus activities) but I did also dabble in sewing a few things for little people last summer. Sewing (when it goes well) is soooo much faster than knitting I’ll probably be doing a lot more of it in the future! In fact, would love to make my little 2 year old a quilt for her “big girl bed” out of vintage marimekko poppy fabric, if only i can convince the owner of the fabric to sell it to me at a decent price!

    Here are some of my handmade items:
    http://mdmcgees.blogspot.com/2013/07/finished-secret-sewing-project-little.html
    http://mdmcgees.blogspot.com/2013/06/ahem-i-may-become-convert.html
    http://mdmcgees.blogspot.com/2013/12/craftiness-and-creating-central.html
    http://mdmcgees.blogspot.com/2012/01/finally-finished-finished-projects.html

    Oh, and just for kicks, here’s the play kitchen I made over as inspired by Clara’s kitchen!
    http://mdmcgees.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-gift-making-for-keira.html

    Reply

  16. marie says

    I think it looks wonderful, and you have actually inspired me to take out the quilt I had started for my son and finish it. So, well done, and thanks a lot!

    Reply

  17. Rose says

    So cute and you are so crafty!

    On another topic and just out of curiosity.. are you still friends with the Bowers?

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      I was wondering the same thing! You haven’t mentioned them in a while. I have never followed their blog, but a few days ago I wondered whether their baby was there already! Are you going to do a blog collaboration again soon? Always liked those!
      And such a cute blanket by the way. Now I’m determined to buy two actual quilts for my sons (I’m not touching a sewing machine).

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think we’re both knee-deep in “having a baby” mode, haha! And happy quilt buying- I bet that’s super fun. Etsy has some adorable ones!

      xo
      s

    • Lisa says

      Thank you! Yes I saw some wonderful ones. I need to find a shop that ships to Germany though. And I’ll have to pay for customs, too :( which makes some of them crazy expensive. There is a German alternative to Etsy, dawanda.de, but they have fewer sellers (since it is only German shops).
      I also have to use google to turn inches into centimeters all the time. I have no idea how big something is when the size is given in inches ;)
      All the best for your baby! My baby turns 4 months tomorrow. The pregnancy seems so far away already.

  19. Rachel says

    This is gorgeous! It is pinned for when/if I have a little one.

    I notice you use DMC embrioidery threads. Did you use all 6 strands together to get such a strong line? Sorry if you already covered this!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, I think someone else asked this and I didn’t understand, but I pulled the end from the embroidery floss bundle and just threaded that whole thing (didn’t unwind it or thin it out or anything). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  20. Caitlin says

    I love that you made quilts for your littles. I did that too. I had a quilt that was handmade for me when I was a baby and have kept it for always, it’s ratty and needs to be repaired (I’ll get to it someday). My hope was that my own kiddos would love theirs just as much. I made them both the same quilt but with different colors. They look totally different even though they are similar. Now my almost 3 year old lays hers down next to her brother’s quilt while he’s doing tummy time (he’s 6 weeks)just so she can be near him. I love to see them together with their quilts and it fills my heart with ooey gooey-ness knowing that I made that for them. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  22. Tamara says

    All these years later, you are still adorable and you keep me following your beautiful blog, thank you for sharing!…love YHL!

    Reply

  24. Kimberj says

    I have made 1 baby quilt (which I now need to enlarge to twin :P ), a twin quilt, and I have another baby quilt to make. I also made a quilt as a wedding guest book and had all the guests sign the back. The couple just had a baby so that’s the baby quilt on the books now. The first 2 were for her sister’s girls. At least this one will be a boy quilt, something new.

    Reply

  25. Teja says

    Love this … by the way this type of stitching is also known as ‘Kantha’. Darn .. I am sure you already know about it! :)

    does the white diamond-quilt fabric shrink by any chance? I assume you used

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Someone else mentioned Kantha today too. So interesting! I washed the diamond quilt fabric beforehand so it was all pre-shrunk. I used it with Clara’s quilt as well and it seemed to work.

      xo
      s

  26. Ang says

    I have (I think) 5 quilts I want to get done by June! One for each daughter (both started, one almost done) and three for teachers. I actually got a new-to-me Bernina – and it is SO FANTASTIC machine quilting on it, I’m super productive with it.

    If you’re breaking needles, you probably should get a Denim needle when you’re sewing so many layers at one time. Also, sew nice and slow through lots of layers, that will prevent breaking too. I almost got hit in the eye with a needle flying out once – yikes!

    I’m doing some knitting with knitting hoops in front of the TV – making those goofy slipper sock things – it stops me from eating in front of the TV. Here’s the instructions I’m using: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anj7hE5JroI

    Reply

  27. Jeanna says

    I actually got a little choked up from Clara’s sweet comment, and my collie jumped up to see what was wrong, lol! She’s a darling little girl…………. and the quilt is darling too :)

    Reply

  28. Michelle D. says

    Sherry, I love the cute little quilt you made for Captain Barnacle!! Super adorable :) I don’t have kids yet, but I love art and have yet to try my hands on a sewing machine.

    My mom’s best friend knitted a quilt for me when I was a baby and as someone who’s had this quilt for over 31 years already (did I just give my age away?! lol), I must say that it’s such a treasured feeling to know that someone cared about me and my mom so much that they would make me a quilt with so much love. I treasure this quilt and hope to pass it down to the next generation when I have kids. :)

    Reply

  30. elizabeth says

    I. Love. This.
    My friends have recently turned into baby-making machines, and while I had grand plans of crocheting blankets for everyone, that’s definitely no longer a possibility (unless it magically becomes cool to present a kid with a hand-made blanket on their 18th birthday, which is about when I’d finish the last one). Thanks for posting such a simple, elegant, beautiful solution to my blanketing needs!

    Reply

  33. SarahN says

    My 2014 goal included more craft, and I have to say, I love hand sewing (and hand wiring flowers, but that’s another story, this engineer is also a qualified florist).

    Anyhow, this is the sort of project that screams to me, the perfect mindless work, with busy hands, that will make me feel proud as punch when I’m done!! And I do watch a LOT of TV. I mustn’t tell the BF it was inspired from YHL and baby 2 of yours, he’s already over my yearning for children (and my excitement when you bought a new house – seriously was the BEST and MOST EXCITING news on that day!)

    Reply

  35. Agus says

    I likeeeee it!!!! I find quilts the best bedroom accesory, so cozy, soft and colourful….Love it! The only thing i’d have done different is the edge… I would r sew some bias tape, green, black or any coordinating color! but that is me, the crazy sewer from argentina, best whishes for you and the test of the family from here!

    Reply

  36. Kate says

    I love how simplistic that quilt is. What a great idea! I will have to keep this idea in mind if/when I need to make a baby quilt in the future. =)

    Reply

  37. Sarah says

    I made my oldest her Christmas stocking, it took me about 3 years after she was born to finally finish it… lol. It was a cross stitch pattern. Same thing for my youngest, I have it currently hiding in a spot unfinished so at least it doesn’t mock me for my terrible lack of motivation and can do attitude to finishing the silly thing. It will get there eventually… hopefully within the next year or so… lol

    Reply

  38. Jennifer Warren says

    I am new to your blog and was wondering where you found that green crib sheet? I want lovely bright colors for my sons room and it is impossible to find!

    Reply

  39. Leah says

    I just LOVE this quilt. I feel like I want to make one for my baby and every baby I know and every baby-to-be I know…and everyone else too.

    Reply

  40. Sarah says

    This is so cute — and definitely easier than piecing a quilt top together, even if the stitching did take some time. If you ever want to bind it instead of hemming, there are a zillion good online tutorials on how to make and attach binding. You can do that with a machine too!

    Reply

  41. Barbara says

    Darling! Love the simplicity of it (actually pinned it for future reference). I am almost finished making my second quilt for my second grandchild. Both the kiddos are moving to ‘big kid’ beds soon (crib sized without the sides) and I thought they needed a special blanket. I pieced the quilts from various prints first then decided to hand quilt them. So I totally get the long hours, but not poke your eyes out hours. Kind of therapeutic actually. Glad this will be the last one for a few years though…my fingers are sore!

    Reply

  42. Dianne says

    Hi Sherry!!!!

    Both of your quilts are beautiful!!! Keep up the great work!!!! I’ve been quilting for 4 years (and used a sewing machine for the first time a year before that) and using the machine is by far the most complicated part. But remember, it is a mechanical machine. There is a relationship between the needle, thread, tension, fabric, and the machine. When all is working, I guarantee there is no cursing. You just have to find the right combo. you will also find that you will sew the same kind of stuff over and over again, so once your figure it out, you are golden.

    I believe the issue you had with breaking the needle is because you weren’t using the right needle for your project. Take a read on this blog post. Believe it or not, she did a GREAT job in simplifying it.

    Keep up the GREAT work and keep on sewing!!!
    Dianne

    Reply

  45. NatalieS says

    I love to sew but I also curse a lot while doing it, I blame my Mum, she sewed my sister and I quilts when we moved out of home and you knew whenever she was working on them because of the amount of swearing coming from the other end of the house.
    While watching TV at night I love to knit. All my friends have started having babies so I am knitting a stash of baby presents, it’s so much fun and so relaxing, the perfect repettitive activity to unwind, with the occasional swear word throw in when I drop a stich.

    Reply

  46. Ashley S says

    Omg I love this idea, proof that there is beauty in simplicity. I love that this is a hand stitch too because I too fear the sewing machine gods and doing things like changing thread color send me into a tailspin, so the fewer thread changes the better.

    Reply

  47. Marie says

    Love this, Sherry! I made my little guy a blanket for his bed. It is embarrassingly bad, and he loves it! I promised him I’d make it one day before his nap (bad decision), so I had to get it done. It is so crooked and the seams are sooo uneven, but he carries it everywhere and says I made it for him because I “wuv” him. Makes me tear up, too!

    Reply

  48. Lisa says

    Love it!! I make quilts as a hobby and I love the simplicity of yours. You have such a creative gift and it’s so sweet to know your boy will enjoy this for so long. I also love that you took your time and enjoyed the process. That is a goal for me in my quilt making.

    Reply

  49. Andrea says

    I LOVE it!! I definitely know what you mean about getting into a fight with the sewing machine EVERY single time I turn it on. I swear it has a vendetta out for me.

    Reply

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