question about designing a quilt
 

Can someone direct me to the right place to design a quilt? I have a customer who has given me baby clothes and wants me to design a quilt around a baby blanket. Is there a free program available where I can plug in certain size squares and plan what sizes to cut out? Thanks in advance for any help!

most of us do memory quilts with squares or rectangles. Try looking at some baby quilts and getting idea there.also search for t-shirt quilts. you'll find a lot of quilts there that maybe able to help you.

I have no program suggestion for you, but do like the idea of designing it like a tee shirt quilt. If it were me, I would measure what you think you can use with each piece, then design a sashing to bring them to a similar size. How many pieces do you have to work into your quilt? Is it to be designed as a 36" square, similar to a baby size?

Here's a tutorial if you're going to cut up the clothes. http://www.craftastical.com/2009/08/...rom-start.html

Thanks for the link. I may even make one some day!

Leslie

I have 26 pieces of clothing and 3 blankets I can use. She wants it either double size or queen size and said I can add borders if it helps, (which I'm sure I will have to in order to reach the size I need.) I would like to keep the clothes in their original shape and just cut the backs off. So, my squares will have to be at least 12". I am just looking for something that I can plug in sizes to a grid before I cut anything.

since you want to use the clothes in the original size/shape, i would applique them by hand or machine to your square block. then i would cut out the back of the quilt square and then the baby clothes back. that way, you won't have to worry about the cut edges of the clothes. i'd also start with a larger than 12" square and trim it square after the applique as the applique sometimes draws up the flat fabric. be sure to show us your progress.

I use graph paper to design my quilts, figuring out the overall size, fitting in blocks, sashing and by borders. When using clothing and other blankets it is best to Not over think it, over complicate it. Keep it simple. Browse t-shirt quilt pictures for inspiration using squares & rectangles. Sketch the shapes onto graph paper filling in the gaps with strips or additional blocks.

Keep in mind that if the baby clothes are knit you will need to add some kind of stabilizer to keep them from stretching.

and here is a design site: http://mywebquilter.com/index.aspx

I use https://www.quiltcanvas.com/