i make most of my 'baby' quilts about a meter square (just over 3X3 feet)i found this was my fav size when my bot was wee. a good size to swaddle in, tuck around in the stroller and perfect for tummy time on the floor.

and it is big enough that my 7 year old still carts his to and from to sleep overs...and plays on the floor with it.

Most of the baby quilts I have made have been around 36" to 40" square or 40" x 50" rectangle. I do not like to piece backings for a baby quilt! The Jack and Jill quilt I posted yesterday was to have been 42.5" x 53.5" - but, I cut the sashings a tad thinner and made the borders smaller also as I was worried I'd have to piece the backing for the original size.

I like to make what I call baby quilts at least 45"X56" so they can be used into their toddler years. I have an 8 year old great-neice who told me just last night she 'waited her whole life to meet me' so she could tell me thank you for the quilt I made for her when she was a baby and sleeps with every night.

On the other hand, when I found out our third great-grandbaby was a girl and the quilt I had made wasn't really girly, I bought about 1 1/4yd of white seersucker and 1 1/4 yd of seersucker with little pink flowers on it. Sewed them right sides together (no batting or filler), turned and did a decorative stitch around the edges and made a larger size receiving blanket type thing. I thought it was too big, but every time I see them, they have that thing draped all around her or over her.....just lightweight enough unfolded if it's a bit chilly, or folded if it's cooler. It sure surprised me at how versatile it is and how they're using it!

SharonG/FL-MI-MN-IN-MI-IN (back home to FL next week!)

I prefer rectangles to squares, so I usually make my baby quilts about 40x50". This is a good "floor-playing" size, but not too huge to cart around. It also allows me to use a one-piece backing.

My first "baby quilt" was a tad larger at 40x60, and is still in use by it's recipient at 13 years old. She likes to cuddle with it while watching TV. One interesting thing about that quilt was it was for a "grandparent's shower". We had a baby shower for the grandparents, to outfit their home for when the baby visited. That quilt still lives at the grandparent's house, and is still much loved.

Preemie quilts are 18" x 24" and they get them right away. They are washed in the hospital laundry when they arrive, then the NICU nurses drape them over the top of the isolettes until the babies can be taken out for cuddling.

Once it's safe for the babies to be taken out of their "boxes", they are ready for real clothing and whatnot. I made doll clothes for my little girls to wear and they didn't even send them through the laundry system. They figured that the girls would need to be exposed to the germs present in our household and all they asked was that I wash the garments before bringing them in.

I asked the nurses once about the whole germ thing and they said that it's virtually impossible to create a germ-free environment, especially in a hospital due to the fact that it's full of sick people. We washed our hands thoroughly and were given hospital gowns to put over our clothing but were not required to wear masks unless we had a cold or something.

Annie

Over the weekend, my grandson's mother mentioned that she still had the quilt I made for my son that was used for my grandson. She said it was not in good shape anymore. When my husband made a pickup truck bed with a youth sized mattress, I added a border to the baby quilt. I hope to get this back and see what repairs it needs. I don't recall the size of the original, but I know it was rectangular.

Annie: I forgot to ask--what loft batting do you use for the preemie quilts?

Carole

They use a low-loft poly. While I usually don't care for poly, I do like it in these quilts because it keeps them softer and they will wash like iron. Another good solution is no batting at all, but flannel backing. It results in a lightweight quilt with good drape. The real purpose of the quilts is to comfort the parents. NICUs are intimidating places--they are all monitors and tubes, the babies are in the isolettes naked, which in itself is shocking.

It's necessary so that the nurses can access the tubes, wires, and sensors at a moment's notice, but draping a quilt over the top instantly makes it seem less cold and clinical. We were encouraged to bring in small stuffed animals that could be set in the corners of the isolettes to "warm" them up when our girls were there. BTW--our NICU nurses are the BEST! Our girls' nurses were so loving and caring and they made the whole traumatic experience much, much easier to handle.

Annie

One more question. Do the quilts go home with the babies or does the hospital keep them and use them for other preemies? Carole

Oh no--the quilts belong to the babies! The whole idea is that they have something that is THEIRS in this otherwise impersonal environment. I believe the parents are allowed to choose the quilt that they want.

Annie

I have been trying to make them a little larger 44x54 give or take with shrinkage. I put a print on the front, flannel on the back and no batting. If I know it is a girl, I tend to put some eyelet lace around the edge. Easily done in an hour, and then I tie it with embroidery fleece. I had quit using flannel for a while and used cotton prints on both sides with the batting in the middle as the flannel always seemed to be not straight or not square. It didn't seem to matter, if it was cheaper or expensive flannel. I have had better luck recently with it.They are so much fun to make. simple. Deanna