For my baby...
This quilt started as an idea when I saw something similar on Pinterest and thought "I can do that!", it was stored in my ideas folder until I found out I was pregnant with my first child. Originally I had intended to make the quilt using a charm square pack I already had, it was in blue, red and white colours and was made of flannel however I needed more squares than the pack had so I moved onto plan B!
I chose strong patterned fabrics in turquoise, green and orange as we did not know the gender of our baby when I made this quilt, also I had been told that vibrant colours are good for stimulating a baby. These were not flannel as I originally intended however I used brushed cotton for the backing of the quilt as this would also be the inside of the sleeping bag and therefore be soft against my baby's skin.
To make the quilt I used 48 squares that would measure 5 inches when sewn to create an 8 by 6 rectangle of squares. I added two layers of wadding (to add extra warmth as our house gets very cold in winter) and backed it with cream brushed cotton. As to quilting it I had intended to free motion quilt hearts and flowers, as I had been on a course in June to learn how, unfortunately this did not go according to plan! As with everything I needed to practise my free motion quilting before actually using it on a quilt, so again to plan B ... I machine quilted zigzags across the quilt! With hindsight I think this was better as it does not detract from the fabric...
At this point came the difficult bit ... how to add the zip that would go across the bottom of the sleeping bag and how to add the ties to keep it together. For the zip it was a much more complicated process ... after buying a zip that was too long and didn't open into two separate pieces I had learnt some valuable lessons! I folded the quilt into thirds along the longest edge to work out where the zip should be placed and then I sewed it to the quilt along the edge where the binding would go. This was made a little easier with the walking foot on my sewing machine however it was still a bit wonky! Once the zip was in place I then added the binding on top and completed the quilt.
I decided I would hand sew ribbon for the ties onto the quilt when finished, this was a good idea as it was only after using it a couple of times I worked out where they should go.
My baby daughter has slept in it a few times and it has already been through the wash, I have now put it away until winter comes and she can get the most benefit from it. Although she will only fit in the sleeping bag this winter I hope she will use it as a small quilt for years to come.
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