My 8-year old DGD and I are going to start a quilt for her to make. At first I thought that a rag quilt would be perfect. However, I have never made one. Today I cut some 5" blocks and did one square and I believe that this will be to difficult for her (the angle seams to hold the fab together etc.).

I am wondering if you have any ideas for us. I will not be able to be with her for the whole quilt so it has to be something she can work on when I am not in town.

Have any of you used the "cotton theory" method shown on Nancy's show? You would put the blocks together; quilt the blocks; and then use her unique piecing to sew them together. At the moment, I cannot remember what it is called. She uses two pieces of fabric strips sewn down the middle then attaches the strips to the blocks with a l" seam. She trims the seam allowance on the ride side and folds the remaining fabric over twice and sews it down with a decorative stitch on the machine.

I was able to find a video on YouTube but it is not as complete as I would like it to be. I am going to try it on some scraps when I finish posting this. Thanks for your time and help. Yolanda Wood River

I would do something like Well Wishes; they look elegant, but are simple and fun to put together.

IMHO trying to get the finishing sashes completed may be very difficult for her. It takes some doing to get these to come out straight and even.

How about applique blocks? Raw edge is fun, and she can sew a straight line around the edges or use the machine for a blanket stitch.

You could cut out the pieces together and fuse them, she could stitch them down when you are gone. You could help her sew the blocks together. :D:D:D

It is called the cotton theory but I do not think this is a good beginner quilt. If you have already cut the squares at 5" you could make a simple quilt out of 5" squares (these are also called charm squares).

If you go to http://tutorials.missouriquiltco.com/
you will see several options for simple quilts. I would either have her tie the quilt or wait until you're together to quilt it.

By choosing something from Missouri Quilt Co she will be able to access it via YouTube even after your visit is over if she needs help or has questions.

Peggy

good luck i have so much fun sewing with gd she is 8

stitching some design on the individual squares should be easy. you could do a plus sign rather than an X. just stitch straight down the center and then across the center. making a + sign. no angles that way. or circles/swirls if those proved to be easy too.

Why not make the 5" squares into a 4-patch design. That should be pretty easy, I would definitely avoid sashings. Way too complicated for her w/out help. You want her to love quilting - not be so frustrated by her first attempt that she gives up.

I don't know if you would be interested or not, but I have tried the Cotton Theory and found it to be slow and not really that easy. I have been using the "Fun and Done" method. Find it much faster and easier. You can google to get an idea of the difference.

my god-daughter's first quilt was a real simple one that she and I completed in about 3 hours. It was basically a fusible applique, she sewed borders on the square then fused designs. I layered it with batting and backing and she quilted it in one step! success. So, now she wanted to make a bed quilt. She picked about 49 fabrics from my stash, I cut 8" squares and she has sewn them together. REal simple, very darling. We will add a wide border then I'll teach her to use my HQ 16 to quilt it. She's done it all by herself and there's been no problem. Remember the adage, KISS? (Keep it simple stupid). My Lily is not stupid but simple worked great for an all-around success.

[quote=stitchofclass2]My 8-year old DGD and I are going to start a quilt for her to make. At first I thought that a rag quilt would be perfect. However, I have never made one. Today I cut some 5" blocks and did one square and I believe that this will be to difficult for her (the angle seams to hold the fab together etc.).

I am wondering if you have any ideas for us. I will not be able to be with her for the whole quilt so it has to be something she can work on when I am not in town.

Have any of you used the "cotton theory" method shown on Nancy's show? You would put the blocks together; quilt the blocks; and then use her unique piecing to sew them together. At the moment, I cannot remember what it is called. She uses two pieces of fabric strips sewn down the middle then attaches the strips to the blocks with a l" seam. She trims the seam allowance on the ride side and folds the remaining fabric over twice and sews it down with a decorative stitch on the machine.

I was able to find a video on YouTube but it is not as complete as I would like it to be. I am going to try it on some scraps when I finish posting this. Thanks for your time and help. Yolanda Wood River[/quote

That method is called "Quilt as you go." It is a great way to get a quilt done quick. It may be tough for an eight year old. You might have to do that part.