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Giving Back Gifted Fabric As A Quilt

A while ago a friend from Uni came to visit me. Beforehand she had asked whether I would like to take some fabric off her hands that she had bought in the hope of getting into sewing. Since she hadn't touched the fabric for a while and wasn't expecting to do so in the future, she had decided that the fabric should move on to a home where it might get used. I gladly accepted.


When she visited it turned out that some of the fabric was quilting cotton in colours that would work well together. I had been thinking about trying out quilting for a while and this was the perfect opportunity. Since my friend who gave me this fabric was pregnant, I'd want to get her a present in the near future. As she had purchased the fabric in the first place, I assumed she would probably like the colours and patterns and decided to make her a quilt. While I don't take commissions, I do like to gift handmade items to people who appreciate them, which is also why I asked her first, if that was something she'd like. Also, making things for others offers the perfect opportunity to create things I want to try out but don’t have a need for myself.


Quilting the quilt with the sewing machine

As this was my first quilt, I watched some videos on piecing; specifically on how to chainstitch the blocks and how to press and nest the seam allowances. For my first attempt at quilting I used simple, relatively large, square blocks to give myself an easy win. Also, I aimed for a manageable size (approximately 95 by 95 cm), which would result in a play mat that fits into a playpen. Due to the method of chain stitching the blocks and the small size of the quilt, the quilt top came together surprisingly quickly.


Hand sewing the binding around the quilt

Personally, I like simple, minimalist designs which is why I decided to quilt the fabric by stitching in the ditch to minimise the visible seams. This had the surprising benefit of making the back look like a quilt with square blocks as well! The binding was sewn by hand and was the step that took the longest by far. However, I enjoyed this task as I could do it comfortably on the couch.


Finished baby quilt on the driftwood ladder

The quilt was personalised by adding a tag with the baby's name and his date of birth on the other side. My husband made the tag using a cutting plotter and iron-on foil.


Baby quilt with a name tag

While I used quilting cotton that was left unused in someone’s fabric stash, I did buy new batting and 25 cm of fabric for the binding. I'm very happy however, that I finally got to try my hand at quilting as well as being able to make someone happy by basically doing something for them that they didn't get around doing themselves. In this sense: sew your stash! Or rather, sew someone else's stash!


Finished baby quilt in the play pen



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