Baby Quilt Advice
 

I'm making a baby quilt for my SIL who is expecting in June. And the more I've thought about this quilt, and played and toyed with fabrics, the more the quilt design has changed. Ultimately I have decided to not do sashing around my blocks, and turn the quilt into a "scrappy irish chain". This quilt has to be scrappy because of fabrics that are being included in it. I don't have very much of certain sentimental fabrics. The "sentimental fabrics" come from two shirts that belonged to my SIL's father who passed away of renal failure in 2007. And they are a tad bit more boyish than girlish, and we've been told this baby is a girl.

The advice I need involves what to do about a measurement issue. My blocks are going to be 9 inches, not 12 inches as my quilting book recommends. Also my quilting book only gives directions to make a twin size quilt. This is a crib sized quilt. I've figured up the number of blocks that will fit a 45x60 crib quilt, and I've purchased my batting. There's only 1 problem...9 will divide into 45 evenly, but not into 60. I have a gap of 6 inches in the length. I thought about filling that gap with a white border at the top. But that would involve cutting a whole new square pattern to fit the gap, and there would be 1/2 a foot of plain white fabric at the top of the quilt. I'm not sure that would look right and work well. Would it look better and work better to put a 3 inch "border" at the top and the bottom of the quilt? I need for this quilt to actually be crib sized as it will be used as a quilt for the crib when my SIL makes up the baby's bed. She puts all sorts of pretty things in the crib when she makes it up, and then takes it all out when she puts the baby to bed in the crib.

Also, what's the best way to sign a quilt? I've heard about iron on quilt labels, but it's been my experience that they don't hold up well to washing and drying. Is there a pen that I could actually write on the quilt backing with when the quilt is finished? I want to sign this quilt with my signature and the date it was made as well as put a small message on it.

I would add one more row and make it 63 inches. The quilt will live love after the child is taller and will appreciate the longer length.

I agree with DebLuvsQuilting. I don't think the quilt can be too long. That baby is going to grow and grow quickly.

I so agree I would make it 63 inches.

I'd just make it longer. You're not supposed to use a baby quilt in a crib anyway. They recommend now that the only thing you should have in the crib is a tight fitting sheet and the baby.

Ok, let me explain this. My MIL considers a bed to be messy, and dirty if it is not "made up" with quilts/comforters, pillows, etc. This belief also includes cribs. And when my boys and my niece were infants she would tell us to make the kids beds (cribs) so that they didn't look trashy and "nasty". So, when we took the kids out of their cribs in the mornings we would "make" the cribs. We let the kids stay in bassinets, swings, entertainers, and playpens during the day and at night we stripped everything out of the beds except the fitted sheet and put the babies to bed. The next morning, we did it all over again. This quilt is a "look cute" and be sentimental quilt. It is not one that the baby will actually be allowed to sleep with until she gets to be about a year and a half old. Then it will get put on her toddler bed. Around age 3 or 4 my SIL will pack it away in a trunk unless it's her "comfy blankie" and then she will drag it around with her until she gets ready to give up her comfy.

I guess I could put another row at the top and make it 63 inches. That is something that I had not considered doing, and it might would actually fit the toddler bed better later too.

For the 'label', I have just embroidered details onto the binding- like signing a painting.

I do almost the same thing for a label---I machine embroider information right onto the backing fabric, before quilting. Good luck to you!

Me and embrordery don't get along. I have a nice Brother sewing machine with a lot of stitch patterns, but it doesn't do embrordery. And in the past I didn't worry too much about signing the quilt, but for this occasion, and how sentimental my SIL is, I was wanting to sign this one.

The toddler bed that my granddaughter used is the same size as the crib. In fact, it was a crib bought at IKEA and you take one of the side rails off and it it a toddler bed. Because they are having another baby, they bought her a twin bed. I made the quilts for the crib and toddler bed about 45 X 60. I would either do the 3" border across the top and the bottom. How about using some of the fabrics to cut out heart shapes, and space those along the borders? That might be a fun idea. I need to get started on the twin size quilt and a crib size quilt for the baby.