I want to make DD a quilt..

I have never made one in my life, i would have to do it by hand (am i nuts? lol) which doesnt really worry me..
where do i begin? what do i need?
ANy help or advice would be so so awesome :)
TIA xx

I made one for DD2 when I was PG, I had a sewing machine though.

Actually I made two, the first one was ok, I learnt by trial & error and the second turned out really well.

I started with a patchwork top, and then added batting & a back....

What kind of quilt are you wanting to make? do you want to do patchwork?

ive Pm'd you as i dont think we are allowed to post links

Thanks MrsS thats gonna be really helpful :)

Fleur, yeah a patch work one, i dont know too much about quilts thought that was the only kind :redface: lol

start with something simple first. something like a "box" pattern. Chose your material and then cut it into squares (I'd suggest 6" - you can get templates from spotlight which makes it super easy). Arrange in a pattern (my first one pretty basic, two materials alternating). Once they were sewn together (I pinned them together and sewed in lines then joined the lines), I cut a "back" (I chose one colour and it was slightly bigger than the sewn piece. This mean I could "fold" it over and have a it of edging). I put batting inbetween the two large pieces of material and sewed around the edges.

HTH and makes sense!

A really easy way to go would be to buy a pack of charm squares from a fabric/patchworks shop (or online) that way there is minimal cutting and they are all colour co-ordinated, you just sew them together, border, batting and batting.

Is there like a kit or something i can get? but i wana choose my ownbits of squares, i kinda wanna make it theme in with out life (snakes, lizards, our dog :) her name even, if i can that is lol ) and still be a girly colour :sigh:
i wih id done this when i was pregnant lol.. i had alot more time then to focus on it lol.
i still really wanna do it, but she might not get it very soon is all LOL

you can get all sorts of patterns, and kits. some will include all of the fabric, some just the pattern

hit ebay for some kits. i bought a beginners kit when I was starting out but i bought it when on holiday somewhere... can't recall the name now which is a shame because she was lovely and also had a website! :wall:

Also maybe post int he wanted section and see if anyone has some old patchwork and quilting or patchwork and stitches mags for some inspiration and info on shops etc. Your library might even have them.

In fact, I have one thats a double (I have 2 copies) that I would be happy to send you, PM me.

I made my own design, just playing around with graph paper.

You can choose what size pieces to use, and if you are doing it all by hand (crazy girl!) i would go for bigger pieces in your pattern.

This is an example of one design:

a 90cm x 90cm quilt with 3 columns downwards (each 30cm wide plus seam allowance)

1st column - has a 30cm x 30cm square piece, then 2 pieces 60cm height x 15cm width

2nd column - 5 pieces 30cm wide x 18cm height

3rd column - 2 pieces 60cm height x 15cm width, 30cm x 30cm square piece

Plus you need to add a border that joins the front to the back.

Making a quilt for your DD is a lovely idea! I am doing one for my DD, and I love the fact that as I sew, I am thinking of her and putting all sorts of lovely thoughts and vibes into it!!

I am doing it by hand also, as I am using the English Paper piecing method. I chose this style as I remember my Grandmother doing it and I vividly remember admiring quilts she made with all those tiny handstitches. It is absolutely doable in my opinion, if you are prepared to take a long time :lol:!

I just bought a whole heap of fabric I liked then set to work. I scoured the internet searching for inspiration and settled on a rough design. A patchworker told me that generally, if you choose fabrics you like, it should all come together, especially with a "scrappy" quilt as I am doing - and she is right, I am 1/4 through and it is divine! So far it has taken me 9 months, but I would take 6 months off that as I stopped when I got pg as I went to bed early every night rather than sewing, then had other stuff on with a house move etc. Basically I just do a bit in front of the TV nightly and I can take it with me and do it on the go if I want too.

In the meantime, (with all the internet inspiration) I decided I would have a go at machine quilting too and whipped up a few dolls quilts, then a single bed quilt for DD (for the interum until I finish this one ;)) then a cot quilt for a friend. They are so much faster to make, but, this hand done one will be so much more special!!

Keep in mind, once you have hand done the quilt top, you can always pay for someone else to do the quilting by machine. They are often professionaly finished. I am still tossing up whether to hand quilt mine:think:

The suggestions above of a simple square cut patchwork or one using pre-cut charm packs are good ones (I whipped up the cot quilt in a day with one of these and the colours are beautiful together) but if you are interested in my method, search 'english paper piecing' in You tube or google images. There are great tutorials available on the web and on you tube to get an idea. For quilting in general, I learned all I needed to get me going via you tube - the "expert village" - "how to quilt" & "how to make quilts" series were excellent.

one thing to keep in mind too with the actual quilting is how closesly you need to quilt - this will depend on the batting that you are using.
You need the quilting stitches to be within a certain proximity to each other so that the batting doesnt tear or fall apart.

There are some patterns you can download on the spotlight website!! :D