Hello All,
I am new to the quilting board and also fairly new to quilting. I was inspired to start quilting two years ago when my Aunt sent me a quilt for Christmas. I cherish it and use it daily. I've made two quilts in my spare time since then (both are a pinwheel design) and now I am happy to say I have a new quilting project on my hands.
My younger sister and her husband are expecting their 1st little one and I am in the process of planning a baby quilt for my new niece/nephew (they want the sex of the baby to be a surprise) Consequently I have tried to coordinate a quilt with colors that are neutral and not too bold.
My problem is I want this quilt to be one that the baby will be able to use throughout the toddler years and am wondering what size would be a good size to make the quilt.

Any help is greatly appreciated...

~Bri~

Maybe Lap size?? (bigger than crib, but not quite twin) Kids love that size on up into elementary school. Congrats on the new family member, & welcome to quilting!!!

Thank you very much for your input. Would you maybe know a rough dimension in inches? My other two quilts were for queen size beds, so I'm not sure how to gauge the dimensions of this one.

I always buy plenty fabric when I start something new if it's not from scraps, for a baby 1yd-1-1/2 yds is fine i make enough blocks to go down one side and across to be the size I think looks about right and then count how many blocks it's gonna take to fill it. Real scientific! LOL

I don't like those tiny size quilts that last about 2 months either. I made my baby quilts about 44X56" And twin size about 65X85". But a cuddle size that is inbetween the two are nice too. Happy quilting! Sara

I tend to buy plenty of fabric as well when I start on new projects. I have so many scrap blocks, experiment blocks and just an insane scrap fabric pile. My way of quilting hasn't been very scientific either :-) I have five seperate fabrics for this one project. I bought 1/2 yd of each, and they go gradually from a medium blue print to a pale yellow print. I will see if I can post some images...once I start piecing things together.

I was thinking of doing 3" by 3" blocks. The blocks will be made of five strips hence the five seperate fabric patterns. Each strip is 4" long by 1" wide allowing for 1/4 inch seam allowance when I sew the pieces together, I think that's how I figured it last night :?: Either way when I did my practice block last night it ended up exactly 3" by 3" somehow, so my method must have worked. I'm not sure what you would call the pattern I am using but the quilt will end up being a zig zag as all the blocks kind of connect with one another.

i like to shoot for between 42" and 45" wide and 60" long for baby quilts and adult laps.

why?

i could say it's because that's such a nice size - which it is. but it's really because that's the size of precut crib-sized batting. and i don't need to piece the back. :mrgreen:

A crib mattress is 27 X 52". If you make it much bigger than that, it's hard to tuck into the crib. If you allow 6" on each side and at the foot, that would be a quilt of 39" X 58". But I don't want it to come all the way to the top (head) of the mattress, and we certainly don't need a pillow tuck, so I think that 39" X 52" is actually a good size if you want the quilt to be used in the crib.

Hope this helps. Sara

Thank you all So much. You have given me some very useful information and I am very grateful. I am making it 42" by 54". And I've started cutting my pieces....lots of cutting, then more measuring, then more and more cutting LoL.

Thanks again!