Saturday, August 28, 2010

Fat Quarter Baby Quilt Tutorial

A quick and easy baby, cot or lap quilt tutorial.

Finished Size
86 x 107 cm (34 x 42 inches)

You will need:
6 fat quarters (a fat quarter is 22 x 18 inches)
1.5m (1 2/3 yard) backing and binding
107 x 127cm (42 x 50 inches) batting

cotton
sewing machine
rotary cutters, rulers and mat

1. Choose 6 fat quarters
2. Cut each fat quarter as shown in the diagram below below.

3. Put the 14 1/2 x 2 1/2 rectangles away for the moment and organise the rest into 6 piles. Each pile will need one 10 1/2 square, one rectangle 10 1/2 x 5 1/2 and two rectangles 5 1/2 x 6 1/2. Make sure you use 4 different fabrics in each block.

4. Take one pile of fabrics and sew the smaller rectangles together along the longer edge. Press (you can either press the seams open or to one side).
5. Sew the big rectangle to the top and the square to the bottom. Press. Repeat for the other 5 blocks.
6. Arrange the 5 blocks into 3 columns. The blocks in the middle row are upside down. When you are happy with the arrangement sew each column together.
7. Take the 6 rectangles 14 1/2 x 2 1/2 you put aside at the start and sew together in 2 strips of 3 as follows.
8. Sew the two strips between the columns.

9. Place the backing right side down on the floor and the batting on top at one end of the backing. Place the quilt top right side up on top. Baste.

10. I quilted in horizontal and vertical straight lines, between about 2 and 5 inches apart.
11. Trim away the excess batting and backing (leaving a little bit showing). From the excess backing fabric cut four strips along the width of the fabric 2 1/2 inches wide. Remove the selvedges and sew the strips together. Press in half wrong sides together down the length. Sew the binding to the front of the quilt, mitring the corners. Fold the binding to the back and stitch in place.
I haven't written a detailed tutorial of the binding process as they are already some great ones around. Here is a great one I saw the other day. If you google quilt binding tutorial you will find lots of great ones.
If you do make one I would love to see it. You can add it to the flickr group here.

48 comments:

Erica said...

Thanks for the tutorial!

Lurline said...

Oh, I have been looking forward to this!
Thanks - Lurline♥

Michelle said...

Perfect, I've been meaning to make a quilt for 3 years. Love this one so much that I'm actually doing it right now! Nearly have it all cut out...

Bianca Jae Makes Stuff said...

Great little tutorial Kate. Fab way of using up those random fats that are lining around ;) xox

Annie said...

Bright happy quilt, thanks for sharing Kate

Black Eyed Susie said...

Lovely. Does this mean I'll need to have another baby? Oh dear!

Stephanie said...

Oh this is perfect! I was just starting to think about what to do for my little one's first birthday quilt.

G Leigh said...

Thank you for sharing this!
A dear friend is about to be a first time Grandmommie, and this is just what I was looking for as a gift. Fiber hugs! - Ginger

Unknown said...

Thank you for the tutorial, I will have to try it sometime soon. I really like the colours you used btw, red and blue is one one of my favourite colour combinations at the moment! :) x

Bellgirl said...

That's so cool! I love the red flower fabric :)

patchworkdelights said...

Thanks for the tut, explained really well, thanks Kate.

Wendy said...

this is awesome, thanks for sharing it :) I love the fabrics you chose, too... so cheerful and pretty!

bec said...

Thanks for the tutorial, i'm going to make it this size first, then a bit bigger maybe. More interesting than plain squares!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

That is so cute and well explained! I would love to link to this if you didn't mind. I just clicked over from Craft.

Tracy said...

I love this design and you make it look simple.

Katie B said...

Thanks for the cool tutorial! I definitely have some FQs I could use to make some of these.

Janette said...

I've never made a quilt before, but found your tutorial really easy! Thank you so much for sharing it! I don't have a flickr account, but photos of the quilt are here: http://www.jnutisnuts.com/fat-quarter-baby-quilt

Scarlett Burroughs said...

I just discovered your blog and found your fab tutorial. I linked to it here: http://quilting.craftgossip.com/?p=6457

Nice instructions plus I appreciate your use of fat quarters to simplify and shorten the time to complete what's likely a gift.

Warmly,
Scarlett Burroughs
Quilting Editor, Craft Gossip

Unknown said...

This was my first ever quilt and I LOVED the easy to use tutorial!

Beth said...

This was such an easy pattern but with such a striking outcome! I've gotten more compliments on this quilt than any others! I posted in the flickr group too. Thanks for sharing this pattern!
Beth

Sandy said...

Thank you for such a wonderful tutorial! I just made my first quilt using it, and it came out pretty good. I will post it to the flickr group. Thanks again.

Little Penpen said...

I love working with fat quarters and I just made the top this week. It went together so easily. thanks!!

SarahSyp said...

I made this tonight out of old men's dress shirts, but I did it so quickly I did it out of order (only me!). It still looks cool. Thank you.

Sue Rostron said...

Thanks for this, I'll try and post a picture of mine. I wish I'd placed my fabrics better but know the couple who are getting this for their first baby will love it anyway.

Love your work.

sunnieday4u said...

I just found this tutorial on Pinterest and I'm looking forward to making two of them for my cousins.

Steph said...

I just love your quilt and your tutorial. So easy to follow. I've made my own (a little bigger) and just love it! Already decided to make a few more as Christmas gifts! :) I also posted a photo to your Flickr group :)

Amy B. said...

Thanks for this tutorial! I just made my first quilt top, THIS quilt top! I used the custom fat quarter bundle "Fighting Crime One Fabric at a Time" from Fabricworm! It's not perfect (as I'm just learning), but I'm pretty happy with it and can't wait to start the rest of the process tomorrow!

The Lawrences said...

this was really easy!! I was able to cut it out and sew it together in one afternoon/evening {& i have two young kids!} Thanks!!

The Lawrences said...

this was really easy!! I was able to cut it out and sew it together in one afternoon/evening {& i have two young kids!} Thanks!!

andrea said...

Quick question...I am getting ready to cut the blocks out of the fat quarter. Don't I need 18.5 inches of fabric to cut out all the blocks? The fat quarter is only 18 and even smaller after washing. Am I missing something? Thanks!

Valerie said...

I just starting making this quilt and it has been such a great experience! It's my first time quilting and the instructions are perfect. Thank you so much for this tutorial!

Sandy said...

Love your tutorial. I posted a link to it here on my blog.

http://burnsbobbins.blogspot.com/2013/03/charity-quilting-mindblockcan-you-help.html

I will post a picture in your flickr when the quilt is finished. Thanks again,
Sandra

Betty Lou said...

Thank you for sharing your tutorial. I am on a mission to make fifty baby/kids quilts in twelve month and your pattern will be a good one to use for fat quarters. Hugs

Bec_UK said...

Sorry for interupting your comments chain with stupid questions, but I'm new to this sewing business and a little confused. When you say sew the strips between the columns do mean on top of or in the middle? And should the wadding be right up to the edges when you sew the pieces together or hanging out slightly?

Kate said...

Hi Bec, I will leave a message here and hope you see it as you didn't leave a way to reply to you. You sew the columns between the rows, the picture shows how it looks when you are finished. When you are quilting there will be wadding/batting hanging out the sides. Trim it when you have finished quilting.

Kim said...

I'm having trouble getting my small rectangles to line up. They are longer than the big sqaure. What am I doing wrong?

Kate said...

Hi Kim, did you sew them together along the long side, not the short side?

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial! I made my first quilt top based off of it yesterday. It's the perfect pattern for a beginner, and I really appreciated the clear instructions :)

Kate said...

Hi to the person who asked about cutting out, I quickly saw your comment about 18", but when went back it had disappeared, so I didn't see the whole question, but the fabric is 18" high and 22" wide. 10 1/2 + 5 1/2" is 16" so you should have 2" extra height wise and 10 1/2 + 5 1/2" + 2 1/2 is 18 1/2" so you should have 3 1/2" extra width wise. I hope I have answered your question, otherwise please leave me a message.

mairead23 said...

If you are using fabric with a directional pattern, bear this in mind when assembling the middle column.

Janice said...

what a lovely quilt and wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing the tutorial

Dressmaking Fabrics

Anonymous said...

I did it! I'm in my 60s, don't sew, but needed a sit-down hobby when I broke my ankle. Bought a sewing machine and searched the internet. Your instructions were very easy to follow for the quilt top, although I admit I had to look for a simple way to put it together as all the quilting and binding instructions I found looked difficult. I plan to put a picture on your flicker account, and I plan to keep sewing - although probably not quilts.

Unknown said...

I have made this quilt 2 times and am back for a third! Love it and it's so easy. Thank you!

The Bilingual Couch said...

I just finished this for a friend's baby. Thanks for the free, wonderful tutorial!

Anne B said...

I see what you mean Andrea. Any thoughts from those who’ve made it?

Anne B said...

Thanks Kate. I can see Andrea question. If you don’t mind I will try a copy and paste your answer on her posting for her to see.

Anne B said...

Here is a copy of Kate’s reply to you Andrea. She couldn’t find your comment so just posted in the comments.
“Hi to the person who asked about cutting out, I quickly saw your comment about 18", but when went back it had disappeared, so I didn't see the whole question, but the fabric is 18" high and 22" wide. 10 1/2 + 5 1/2" is 16" so you should have 2" extra height wise and 10 1/2 + 5 1/2" + 2 1/2 is 18 1/2" so you should have 3 1/2" extra width wise. I hope I have answered your question, otherwise please leave me a message.”

Hope you see this Andrea.

Unknown said...

I made this and it's very cute and directions were perfect.