New/Average Quilter - Seeking advice
 

Hi there, I'm a newer quilter. I typically stay with classic patchwork.

I've got some older character sheets that I'd like to make over into quilts for my sister and I. We grew up with these... Any ideas on how to manage with out losing a lot of the images?

Thanks,

Jeri B.

Welcome to the Board! Those are some adorable sheets and I recognize every single one of them! Lol I wonder if we're roughly the same age.

Depending on the size, would something like the Sidelights pattern (which is really for a panel) work? If you don't want to purchase the pattern, you could design something similar on graph paper to fit the designs on your sheets.

https://www.missouriquiltco.com/shop...-panel-pattern

Hi and welcome! If it's in decent shape and you really don't want to cut it up, you *could* always just put some batting in the middle and pick a backing out...then just quilt around the images? I love the idea of re-using old sheets. I can still remember some of the ones I grew up with, which surprises me -that was quite a while ago!

Those are so cute and will make such great quilts as momento’s. You could fussy cut some of the larger prints for a patchwork front, cut some in long wide strips for a borders and maybe use one of the “busy” patterned sheet s for the backing. Or, just make a pretty patchwork quilt using your fabrics and use sheets as backing and matching pillows and/or pillowcases....Ideas are endless..

You could always just add a cute border to it. Another option is to just use the whole fabric and quilt it. Not sure if you have a free motion quilting ability on your machine, but straight lines look great too. Look at quilt panels for an idea. You could cut the main picture on the fabric like a panel and add sashing around the panel. Join several of these and you would have a very cute quilt.

if the motifs on the sheets are about the same size, just fussy cut and then frame for the quilt blocks. Cute idea!

They bring back memories........ :)
I like Tartan's idea a lot. Unless you make the blocks really large I'm afraid you'll end up losing a lot.
Welcome to the board!

I think I’d make another quilt and use these for the “back.”

Super sweet prints. Maybe some fussy cut plain squares mixed with a coordinating solid.
[img]blob:https://www.quiltingboard.com/6dd73687-17fa-45d5-b428-6d42b285594e[/img]

That sure brings back memories. I would use them for color and backing. Pick coordinating colors, make a quilt in traditional patterns and use the sheets for backing.

Welcome to the QB from SE Michigan. I am so glad you jumped right in to join all the fun. I hope to see a lot of you here. My first thought wat to "fussy cut" around each design and place onto a block and stitch around it. But then I thought humm... I think quilting the sheet as the front would be so much nicer and no loss of the wonderful designs in the whole quilt. It is always the quilter's choice. What ever you decide I can't wait to see what you do with them. All of them brings back memories when my children were young. Again Welcome to the QB.

My usual first stop of equilter offers free patterns, usually for lines of fabric or using panels, but can give many ideas of settings using large distinctive blocks.

You might just browse the various years for inspiration. Here's the link for 2020, but there are more there!
https://www.equilter.com/pattern/cat.../2020-patterns

Welcome to the Quilting Board Trystine, from Southern Ontario, Canada!

Such great memories for you and your sister with these sheets.
Like many before me, I would agree, leave them uncut.
Of course, providing they are all in good enough condition for such.

Then, I would use them either as a "whole cloth" quilt or a backing.

If you wanted the sheet to be bigger, you could add borders around. Rather than totally plain fabric borders, you could do blocks such as stars, flying geese or whatever. Or maybe there's something of significance to you and your sister, and your memories that could be part of the border? Maybe applique your names or nicknames in the border area? Or even favourite sayings?

Whether you add to the sheet fabric or not ..... what about using minkee for the flip side? That'd be sure to give the two of you lots of huggy-ness to go with those memories!! :)

Good Luck!!!!!!

Just stopping by to say hello and welcome to the boards, you're going to love it here!

Everyone that has posted pretty much has the same ideas that I do, use the larger images and fussy cut and the smaller ones, like the Care Bears could be appliqued. They're adorable sheets and I do remember the Bambi set!

Again, welcome to the boards!

I’d get several matching solid colors to make a simple quilt top (nine patch, Irish chain, star blocks...)and use the sheet as a backing if it is still in good condition.

We must be from the same decade as I remember those pieces for my kids - Bambi, Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears.

the first turning 20 pattern is the simplest and uses fairly large pieces in the large blocks. You could always just make some of the turning twenty blocks and then make several big blocks out of the sheet fabric. One of my friends just made a turning twenty quilt for her husband out of the Minnesota quiltshop hop fabric she had collected over the years so she could show off some of the larger scale prints and panel blocks.