Thread: First Year Memory Quilt Issues

Has anyone on here had any experience with working baby onesies into a quilt? I was given burp cloths with initials on them and some onesies with initials and "baby first" stuff on them and was asked to make a memory first year quilt. I didn't have any problems with the burp cloths. I just kinda cut a square around the initials and then cut 2"strips of pretty fabric to border it. Kind of like square in a square. I'm now moving on the onesies and just don't know what to do with them. They are so darn tiny I cant really cut around the initial part because it doesn't leave me with enough of a seam allowance. Do you think I could just heat n bond and sew around the whole onesie to a pretty piece of fabric the same size as my square in square with the burp cloths? Or maybe not the WHOLE onesie but just the top half. The part that has the little initials and applique "Baby first Whatever" on it? Thanks in advance for any advice. I think I may have taken on a project that I wasn't quite skilled enough or ready to do. Of course! LOL.

I would just stitch the whole onesie onto a rectangle of fabric. If you cut into it, you will need to finish the edges somehow. Good luck!

I saw some memory quilts on Pinterest that did just that, used the whole onsie. I would suspect just the top side (or back side if that is where the design is). I'd use some kind of stabilizer with the knits, like you do with a t-shirt quilt.

I think as long as you pull the seams out so you're working with a truly flat piece of fabric with your onesie, you could have a block with the front of the onesie as dimensional applique. I wouldn't try to put the whole onesie on. It will be too bulky, too heavy, prone to wrinkles & likely to distort the quilt when laundered.

You could use a fusible, but I probably wouldn't (if you do, window it so it's softer -- it will be a little puffy, but I always like that). I'd probably use a water soluble glue like Roxanne's Glue Baste-It to tack it down before doing the applique work. If your machine can do a nice satin stitch, I think that would look great. Maybe use a color of thread that matches a fabric you're using somewhere else in your quilt to really highlight the onesie, assuming the onesie is white.

I should note that I have not put a onesie into a quilt, but I did do a project with the neighbor kids using WonderUnder, used knit kid's clothes & quilter's cotton and it bonded fine. Just double check that the onesie is 100% cotton. I know WonderUnder is designed only to work with cotton. I suspect that may hold true for all fusibles so check the label & read the fusible package! I learned that lesson the hard way on a quilt for a client.

I'd love to see a pic when you're done. It sounds super cute!

Thank ya'll so much for the advice. I am going to try to work on it in the morning to see what I can do! LOL. Only way to learn I guess is to jump on into it!

This quilt so appealed to me for the same reason; it may even have come from this Board. Or my daughter may have sent it to me, I'm just not sure.

It is totally not my idea, but one which I will keep in mind for the very issues you mention. Perhaps you'll find inspiration there too.

~Jo

I made one too, and had to cut out the part I wanted to use and appliqué to larger piece. Turned out really cute. Good luck!

Think of your onsie as a tee shirt and applique it on after using a light stabilizer. I would cut the back away so as not to have to much bulk to your blocks. I once judged at a fair where an individual entered this adorable quilt using toddlers cloths but they were not well attached to the quilt make sure that how ever you do it your blocks will stand up to years of love.

Originally Posted by KristenJ

Has anyone on here had any experience with working baby onesies into a quilt? I was given burp cloths with initials on them and some onesies with initials and "baby first" stuff on them and was asked to make a memory first year quilt. I didn't have any problems with the burp cloths. I just kinda cut a square around the initials and then cut 2"strips of pretty fabric to border it. Kind of like square in a square. I'm now moving on the onesies and just don't know what to do with them. They are so darn tiny I cant really cut around the initial part because it doesn't leave me with enough of a seam allowance. Do you think I could just heat n bond and sew around the whole onesie to a pretty piece of fabric the same size as my square in square with the burp cloths? Or maybe not the WHOLE onesie but just the top half. The part that has the little initials and applique "Baby first Whatever" on it? Thanks in advance for any advice. I think I may have taken on a project that I wasn't quite skilled enough or ready to do. Of course! LOL.

I would cut out the part I wanted in the quilt, probably the front. Then, I would cut all I could out of the back. Iron on the thinnest fusible. Cut out the design you want and using the back, make the block the size you want. There was a tee shirt in the quilt I made for my husband but the design was only on the pocket. I used the rest of the shirt to make the square the size I wanted. Using that fusible, the fabric doesn't "roll" so you have better control over it. Once the square was quilted, no one could tell there were many pieces of that tee shirt in the square. Good luck!