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Sewing a cute baby quilt out of squares can be easy, especially when you start with adorable nursery fabrics.
Even if you only have basic sewing skills, you can make a stylish and very useful quilt out of simple squares of fabric. You can either make the baby quilt entirely out of squares, or use the squares as a border around a center panel. Either way, you may want to choose at least two, or even four, different fabrics for the squares. This adds visual interest to the quilt, and increases the number of cute fabrics you get to work with. Choose fabrics that have complementary colors, but different patterns, such as polka dots, printed characters, and stripes. You can find nursery fabrics in blue and pink, as well as in neutral colors such as pale yellow and green. If pastel baby prints aren’t your style, you can also use brightly colored cottons, novelty prints, and calicos. Cutting the FabricFirst, you’ll need to decide how large you want the quilt. Standard crib size quilts measure 45 by 60 inches. You can find crib size batting in most fabric stores, or you can buy batting by the yard and cut it to size. To make a crib size quilt out of squares, you’ll need six squares across and eight squares down. Squares that are 7.5 inches, plus seam allowance, work perfectly for a 45 by 60 inch quilt. If you use quarter-inch seam allowance on all sides, you can start each square at a nice, even 8 inches. To make sure the squares come out the right size and shape, you may want to cut an 8-inch square template out of paper or cardboard, or use a plastic rotary cutter template. If you want to create a center focal point for the quilt and use squares as borders, you can find preprinted fabric panels in the nursery section of many fabric stores. You can also use plain fabric for the center and add your own decorations or appliqués. To fit in the center of a baby quilt with border squares, you’ll need a panel that’s 45 inches tall and 30 inches wide, plus seam allowance. To make a border out of two alternating colors or patterns, you’ll need 12 squares of each fabric. To make the quilt top entirely out of squares, you’ll need 48 squares total. If you want to use four different fabrics, you’ll need to cut 12 squares from each one. If you buy 3/4 yard of each fabric, you’ll have enough for 12 squares, plus a little leftover. Sewing the Patchwork QuiltTo make the quilt, lay out the squares in the order you want them. Make sure you use alternating colors or patterns to give the quilt a balanced look. Sew each row or column of squares right sides together, then press the seams open. Then sew the squares to the center panel, or sew the rows of squares together. You can make the backing of the quilt out of squares as well, but a solid piece of fabric will be smoother for the baby. A piece of fabric that’s 45 inch wide by 60 inch long, in a complementary color, will be perfect. To finish the edges of the baby blanket, you can find colorful, ready made quilt bindings in most fabric stores. By using this basic baby block pattern, you can create a lot of different crib quilts just by varying the center panel and the fabric.
The copyright of the article Basic Baby Patchwork Quilts in Quilting is owned by Christy Jones. Permission to republish Basic Baby Patchwork Quilts in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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