Super Special Baby Quilt

Sometimes really great people have babies. When they do, you can give them store-bought gifts, or make something really special just for their little bundle of cute.

Step 1 You'll Need. . .

• 36"x45" piece of muslin or linen (or whatever fabric you'd like to use)
• 36"x45" quilt batting (basically a sheet of stuffing material)
• 40"x56" piece of soft fuzzy fabric (pick a color that will look good with the front of the quilt as well as it will roll over to form the edging - you can use blanket or quilt binding if you prefer it)
• 20 iron-on transfers
• 20 images you'd like to use for the front of the quilt
• Computer with image editing software
• Printer
• Iron
• Pins, thread, and needles (or sewing machine)
• Some yarn in a color that will look nice with the front (to form small ties that will help tack the layers together)
• Scissors
• Ruler or measuring tape

Comments

[canida]

Thank you, it's incredible!  Corvidae just sat there and poked at the birds for quite a while.  I think she may get the joke.  ;)  Here are some pictures!

(sorry for the late reply - I wanted to take decent pictures to attach, and it took a bit longer than I'd intended!)

[shesparticular]

Christy, she is so adorable! I think she must be getting cuter and cuter! I'm so glad to hear she gets it - someday she'll be just as smart as her folks I bet.

[gnatquill]

With the transfer paper I use (simple light tshirt stuff from asda/wallmart) you can get a matte finish by peeling off the backing while its still super hot. I do this by dragging the iron backwards at the last second while peeling back with a pair of tweezers. (you may need an extra pair of hands.) 
Then you fix it with copy paper rather than baking sheets. 

This does give a really nice vintage finish but its slightly rougher and doesnt fix as permanently as the shiny finish does.

[wilmarth126]

Katie,
What a great quilt!!!!! I love it!

[ChrysN]

That's a beautiful and unique quilt, nicely done!

[shesparticular]

Thanks so much! I really love your teddy bear slippers - they're adorable!

[lois54]

Beautiful!  I love the elegant birds. One question: How well do the iron transfers stand up to washing and drying? Baby things get washed a lot.  I have always wanted to incorporate my own images into my sewing but I want to be able to wash and wear and I worry that the pictures will come off.  Thanks for the great idea.

[shesparticular]

Thanks so much! I'm certainly hoping that they don't end up peeling off, but I'm not sure how well they'll stand up to lots of washing and drying. Also, because of the batting, this probably ought to be dry cleaned or spot treated, not washed and dried (though the batting could be left out for a blanket as opposed to a quilt). If/when I get an update on how well it wears, I'll be sure to let you know!

[domestic_engineer]

you can totally wash a quilt in the machine, as long as it's quilted. The batting hold up fine. I hope the transfers hold up well too. I love the look, I just wish I could find transfers that weren't so shiny.

[shesparticular]

Since this is just tacked and not quilted with stitching I'm not sure exactly how well it would hold up. I also was hoping there'd be less shine - not sure of a way to minimize it but it isn't as prominent in person as it looks in the images.

[domestic_engineer]

I have some tacked quilts that hold up in the wash. As long as the knots are tied tight. A lot of battings will tell  you on the label how close the tacks have to be to wash it.
anyway....very cute quilt.

[shesparticular]

Awesome info - and thanks!