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Anyone done a quilt made from baby clothes?

9 years ago

I've seen some cute ideas on line, but i'm not sure all the details. Like do I cut up the clothes (only use the front?). Do I use batting and a backing fabric? I can see this getting pretty heavy if I use the whole piece of clothing, batting and backing.

Robbi

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Comments (5)

trouzernc
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
If I were doing a quilt of this type, I would limit the types of clothes that were used. I would not use knits unless they could be stabilized and I would probably keep the blocks simple, i.e. solid blocks from the clothes or maybe a four-patch or nine-patch. If making a wall hanging, then various fabric types could be mixed, but I wouldn't mix dotted swiss from a dress and Oskosh overalls fabric together for a quilt that would get a lot of use and love - they are two very different weight fabrics.

A few years ago I made a beach-themed quilt for a gift for a pre-teen; her mother wanted me to use some fabric from some pants that her daughter had got when they lived in France. The little girl just about wore the favorite pants out! I planned a clothesline in the row quilt with bathing suits since it was a beach theme and cut out a small pair of pants from the worn out pants to hang on the clothesline. It worked out perfectly and the mom was so happy.

Teresa

Here is the quilt with the little blue "French" pants in the middle of the clothesline:
donna_loomis
9 years ago
Trouserz, that is just adorable, and what memories you are helping to preserve! In the "old days", quilts were often made with clothing, but nowadays not so much. I think a memory quilt is a wonderful thing.
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grammyp
9 years ago
Teresa, that is just too cute. Did you do all the applique? Love it.
wendyfaye
9 years ago
Hi Robbie, I made a rag quilt out of my daughter's pj's and jeans, alternating the blocks. It has a layer of purple cotton for the backing and an extra layer of flannel (mostly other parts of the pj's). She had some cute jeans with embroidery etc and some of the blocks include the pockets. It was a great car quilt when she was a kid. It's a little small to be of much use nowadays, but I doubt I'll ever part with it.
trouzernc
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes, I did all the applique by machine, of course. The banner pulled by the plane has something to do with Life ...... and surfing - maybe "life is short, go surfing"? Can't remember really. I added some lined priarie points, pieced borders, and lots of sea creatures. I figured she would have a friend with her while surfing....so .....two surf boards and 2 pairs of flip flops. This was a fun project to do.

This quilt included things found on the NC and SC beaches - the wood fences to prevent erosion, the sea turtles, and the planes that actually do fly ad banners.

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