These days I don’t often make machine pieced quilts, the love and enjoyment I get from English Paper Piecing has kind of taken over my sewing time. However, when I learnt that a new and very dear creative friend was expecting her second baby, a little girl, I knew I wanted to make her a special quilt.
I decided for this little bub to make a play mat quilt rather than a cot quilt. I find the size of this quilt very versatile, its’ perfect to throw down on the floor for babies to play on, is a good size to use in the pram or car, and as bub grows into toddlerhood it can be a little snuggle blanket for them.
My friend, also a maker of sweet children’s clothes and accessories (Ecolier Kids), had posted a photo on Instagram of some pieces she had collected for her little girl. I took inspiration from this image and the items when pulling fabrics from my stash to create the colour scheme of the quilt. My friend loves vintage style, so I made sure that none of the fabric prints were to bold or modern and instead picked prints that had a soft, nostalgic feel.
I enjoy making simple patchwork quilts, so I settled on a design of 4” squares, all placed in ordered randomness. After piecing the squares together I felt the quilt was a little on the small side so I decided to add a plain ivory white border. I used the same plain fabric for the binding and chose a lovely wattle print fabric by Jocelyn Proust for the backing. For the quilting I just used white thread in the ditch, following along the vertical and horizontal seams.
I was very pleased with the finished quilt. I think the colours are perfectly vintage, and I love that it’s sweet but not overly girly, something that I know my friend also loves being none to ‘Girly’ herself.
It was an absolute pleasure to gift this quilt to baby Edith. I hope that she will treasure it and maybe one day pass it down to her own children. That is the lovely thing about making quilts. They don’t belong to anyone person, but rather many people. The sewer who creates it, the mother who cares for it, the child who plays and grows with it, the teddies who enjoy tea parties on it, and future generations who hold on to the memories contained within the fabric and stitches of the quilt.
I have posted Vlog on my YouTube channel which follows along the process of making this quilt. You can watch it Here.
Miss Leela x
