Thread: Newbie to childrens' quilts...advice please

Or, if you do diagonal quilting, use a slight zig zag stitch, which will stretch.

Also, take pieces of the fabric you are using and place them behind the label. Then, if you need fabric for a fix, you have fabric which is the same age and has been washed the same as the quilt. If you have to make the label a little larger to hold the fabric, it is totally worth it.

Originally Posted by sewbizgirl

One suggestion I might make is to avoid straight line diagonal quilting. I made the mistake of doing that on my SIL's quilt and he has broken a lot of the stitching. He tends to kick or push against the quilt with his feet and that stretches it on the bias. The quilting stitches do not stretch, hence the breakage. So maybe avoid diagonal lines on your kids' quilts if you think they will be rough with them.

I like your suggestion, mckwilter, of

"Also, take pieces of the fabric you are using and place them behind the label. Then, if you need fabric for a fix, you have fabric which is the same age and has been washed the same as the quilt. If you have to make the label a little larger to hold the fabric, it is totally worth it.'

Originally Posted by Jeanne S

You might also consider a poly batting as it is fluffier, lighter and holds up to lots of wear and washings. I like cotton batting for all my adult quilts but use poly for kids to drag around.

Just remember that if poly catches on fire, it melts and gives off noxious fumes. When poly melts on your skin, the burn is far more severe. For quilts for children and the aged, I use Dream Angel - fire resistant batting.

I always quilt more heavily when quilting a quilt for children or one that I know will get heavy use and lots of washes.

Fabulous advice!

I like to include a little something special in a kids quilt, like one piece of special flannel so that some of those blocks have a nice fuzzy feel! I would also consider doing some fussy cutting of a cute prints, so they can 'hunt' for that special zebra, dinosaur, or bird. I LOVE Riley Blake's kids fabrics, it so hard to choose!!

[QUOTE=Sewnoma;7224435]The good news is that a patched quilt is an even-more-loved quilt! I have my "blankie" that my gran made for me when I was little, and it has been patched over and over again. I love each and every patch because some of them have stories (parts of other family member's old clothing, for example) and every patch is proof my "Grammy" loved me. My cousin still has his patched-up "blankie" too."

Sewnoma - your response reminds me of MY cousin. She had a Raggedy Anne doll that she loved to pieces. Her mom sewed a new doll and stuffed it with the old doll! My Aunt made sure that my cousin saw the old "Precious" go inside of the new one! My cousin is now 60 years old and still has that "new" doll sitting on an antique rocker.

Thanks for bringing back that sweet memory!

Originally Posted by Sewnoma

....and when my cousin joined the Navy after high school he took his "blankie" with him into Desert Storm for good luck.

This story touched my heart!