Baby quilt tutorial--not perfect by an means but so cute!

I recently made three baby quilts in about as a few short weeks!

Ok, so here we go.  I really wanted to do each of them with 5" blocks.  I wanted one to be a ocean theme, one to be a jungle theme and one to be an International Harvester theme.  I wasn't sure how to do the binding like I have seen so many quilts done so I thankfully had a friend's grandma who helped me!

 Let's begin...
Decide how big you want your baby quilt.  I made them just a bit longer than some websites will suggest, only because I wanted the little ones (all three mommies are pregnant and got these at their showers) to be able to use them in their "big girl/boy beds."  I bought about 3/4 yard of each of the materials not including the back/binding.  I also bought a yard of batting.  I used either the lightweight that has to be cut at the fabric store, or the packaged kind.  I bought all of my fabrics and batting with my coupons at Joann fabrics!

After you have picked out your fabrics, you need to wash, machine dry and iron them.  I used my rotary cutter and cutting mat to make 5" strips of each of the fabrics (A, B, and C) that I want in the front. Next, I sewed A,B and C together in strips.  Whatever order you do them in is up to you! I tried to make 8 or 9 strips so that it makes the blanket wide enough. This isn't my photo but it gives you an idea what I mean.

 

After the strips are all sewn together, then I cut them the opposite direction 5" again.  I did two or three sets of strips so that I could mix them up once I sewed them up. This picture sort of gives you an idea of what I am talking about.  The green is another step! So after you have your three (or two) of strips, put them in the order you want to sew them together.  Lay them out on the floor and rearrange a few times.  If need be, you can add a single square or two at either end.  It helps make the look go the way you want.  

For the green border, I cut 4 strips 3" wide.  I put one across the top and bottom first and then did the sides.  I did this because I thought it made it look nicer but either way is fine!  Now that you have sewn the top together, you will need to layer the top, batting and the backing.  If you don't have a frame to quilt/knot the frame on, pin the edges first and then pin the middle, a LOT!  Large safety pins work great for this. If you don't have them, use long straight pins but keep all pieces as still as possible while pinning.


At this point, you need  to either knot or quilt your quilts.  I knotted them because I was on a time crunch but mostly because I like the old feel it gives them. I used DMC floss to knot them.  One was done with all six strands and the other two I used three.

 I used about 1 1/2 yards for the back and binding. I cut just over a yard for the back.  For the bindings, I cut 2" wide strips.  In order to attach the strips together,  you need to pin them so they form a "L" shape.  The first two pictures show what they look like front and back after sewn.  The next picture shows the picture of the binding folded in half and ironed. 

 

Before you sew on the binding, take the time to carefully trim the batting and back to be even with the front.

To sew the binding on, you need to make sure  the folded edge is facing the main part of the quilt.  I pinned this a lot also so that it stayed neat for m.  I also took my time with the corners. I am including a video I found online that shows how I did the corners.

  

After you sew all the binding on, you will need to fold the binding over to the back.  If you look at the picture it shows the back of the binding.  You need to pin it again and I hand sewed two of them this way.  I did the jungle one by sewing "in the ditch."  This means you very slowly and carefully machine sew the binding to the back by stitching it together from the front.  I hope that makes sense! This last picture is the final product of the one I enjoyed the most.  I was able to get the mom's grandmother and great-aunt to knot it for me! 

Please feel free to leave comments or questions.