Last week I made a baby quilt for a friend who very recently welcomed a baby boy. I LOVE making baby quilts and while I had obviously known for some time that this baby was due to arrive any time now, the gender of the baby remained a surprise. I was really stuck on ideas for this gender neutral baby quilt that I had hoped to make well before the baby's arrival (so much procrastinating!) but as soon as I heard that the baby was a boy I immediately had a plan ... and a baby boy baby quilt (as well as a gender neutral baby quilt) was born!
This is a quick and easy baby quilt made from squares, half square triangles, and hour glass blocks. The quilt top came together in a day and I basted, quilted, and added the binding over the next few days. The fabrics used are a mix of quilting cottons, cotton/linen blend fabrics (Essex Yarn Dyed Classic Wovens), as well as pieces of fabric from reclaimed men's shirts. Stripes + Gingham = 💝. It really is such a classic and timeless combination, especially in this red, white, blue, and black color combination.
For the back of the quilt I have used my go-to backing fabric ~ Newsprint in Spackle by Carrie Bloomston from the Dreamer collection. I have numerous odd size pieces of this fabric left over from piecing together previous quilt backs and it felt great to be able use up two of these fabric pieces for this baby quilt.
For the quilt binding I have used a red/white stripe fabric by Sevenberry - this is a regular repeat stripe across the width of the fabric, although the white stripe is slightly wider than the red stripe.
QUILT DETAILS
Modern Baby Quilt ~ Essex Yarn Dyed Classic Wovens
The finished quilt measures 39 inches x 50 inches.
Each finished block measures 5½" x 5½".
Blocks: Squares, Half Square Triangles, and Hour Glass units.
(See Hour Glass Block Tutorial - I cut 7 inch squares
to piece the Hour Glass Units for this quilt and then trimmed
the blocks to measure 6 inches x 6 inches).
FABRICS USED:
Reclaimed pieces of fabric from men's shirts.
Stripe fabric by Suzuko Koseki for Yuwa Fabrics to
create the boxed/cross effect Hour Glass units.
BATTING:
Low loft cotton batting.
QUILTING:
An all over grid created by stitching edge to edge
horizontal and vertical lines - evenly spaced by use of
a quilting guide attached to the walking foot.
THREAD for quilting:
Aurifil 28wt thread (the gray spool) for quilting:
(28wt top thread - 40wt thread in the bobbin)
Machine Stitched Binding.
Click on any image for a larger view.
An all over grid created by stitching edge to edge
horizontal and vertical lines - evenly spaced by use of
a quilting guide attached to the walking foot.
THREAD for quilting:
Aurifil 28wt thread (the gray spool) for quilting:
(28wt top thread - 40wt thread in the bobbin)
Machine Stitched Binding.
I am looking forward to seeing the new born baby and gifting this baby quilt!
Thank you for stopping by and scrolling through the many photos.
Rita
RELEVANT LINKS:
Sunday Stash: Essex Yarn Dyed Classic Wovens
Hour Glass Block Tutorial
More RPQ quilts with Reclaimed Fabrics
Thank you for stopping by and scrolling through the many photos.
Rita
RELEVANT LINKS:
Sunday Stash: Essex Yarn Dyed Classic Wovens
Hour Glass Block Tutorial
More RPQ quilts with Reclaimed Fabrics
Follow RPQ on:
COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.
What stitch length do you use when quilting? Yours looks great and I think my stitches are too small, even though I make them longer than when I'm piecing. Is there a "standard" I should be looking for?
ReplyDeleteHi Bunny
DeleteI like to use quite a long stitch length - anywhere from 4.0 to 4.5 on my sewing machine. With the drag of the quilt layers the stitch isn't as long as it might otherwise be (for example if you were quilting a pillow cover or top stitching a bag panel), but it is a consistent length provided you support the quilt well throughout.
Also, the heavier the thread that I use for the quilting (for this quilt I used 28wt thread for quilting) the longer the stitch length. Similarly, the linen blend fabrics used in this quilt are somewhat heavier than quilting cotton and the stitch does "settle" into these fabrics --> therefore a longer stitch length is required to achieve the look that I prefer.
Having said that, this is my personal preference and I think you should do what visually pleases you in terms of quilting and stitch length. I don't think there is a right/wrong or a standard.
Thank you for stopping by!
Wow! I love the precise piecing and the border!
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is gorgeous. Well done
ReplyDeleteLove the playful geometric combinations, such a great use of stripes and checks!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Well done, you still surprise!!
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness, Rita, this quilt is fantabulous! I think I’m in love!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteThis is the best of the reclaimed fabric quilts yet!
ReplyDeleteis there an actual pattern for this gorgeous baby quilt? I need to make one for a baby girl who will be born in a couple of months!
ReplyDeleteits a beautiful baby quilt ..
ReplyDeletethis is the cutest quilt ever. I love the plaids and stripes. I think this would be perfect for a cute baby, such pretty colors and patterns❤️
ReplyDeleteThe placement and interaction of the strips and plaids within the hour glass blocks adds so much interest and variation. Your reply to Bunny was so helpful...I didn't realize you used 28 wt. thread or that long of a stitch length.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paige! I only use 28wt thread for quilting when I want the stitches to be a feature. I use a lighter weight thread (50wt thread) for quilting when I ditch stitch a quilt - it is easier to hide the stitches in the "ditch" with a lighter weight thread ;-)
Delete