Making Super Soft Baby Quilts
When making a baby quilt one of the most important things you need is for it to be super duper soft. We were discussing this over at FG Headquarters and we thought that a great fabric for this is double gauze. The benefits of double gauze are pretty endless, it comes in some really pretty, yet muted colours which are kind of perfect for newborns especially. Not only that, but we have some very pretty printed ones, our star print ones are again especially good for baby quilts.
Double Gauze Putty and White Stars
Aside from that, double gauze is also 100% cotton, making it easy to care for and absolutely fine with being washed over and over again (handy for baby stains…). The 140cm width of double gauze makes it great for backing depending on the size of the quilt you are making, no pesky seam down the middle. And if you are so inclined, from experience hand quilting it is dreamy as it is so soft.
We aren’t the only people who think double gauze is a great for baby’s quilts, Suzy Quilts has highlighted even more benefits to using this cloth.
Easy Fleece Backed Quilts for Babies
But maybe you are thinking of a quick quilt make, in which case have you ever considered making a quilt with fleece as a backing? For those of you who have seen us at the shows over the years, you will know that we have been doing this for years now; not only does this reduce the number of components for the quilt, it it also makes it slightly quicker and the finished product can also be used as a play mat.
Again it’s not just us who think fleece makes a great backing for a quilt, New Quilters agrees with us and even recommends using anti-pil fleece (which all ours are) because it’s that bit cosier, washes brilliantly, dries fast and is light weight if you have to carry it around.
Advantages of fleece backing for quilts
- Using fleece saves money as you can make a 2 layer quilt removing the need for backing and wadding (batting).
- Fleece is often available in wider width than standard quilting cotton.
- Fleece often comes in a good range of colours and prints so you can match well with top side design.
- Other fleece backing advantages : warm, water resistant, doesn’t fray, doesn’t shrink in the wash.
Like Double Gauze there are many advantages to fleece for a quilt maker: it comes in a wider width, there are a great number of bright colours making it easier to match to your quilt top and it’s resilient making it great for all the wear and tear kids put quilts through.
Linus Quilts Recommendations
Our friends over at Linus Quilts recommend using high quality anti-pil fleece avoiding cheap imports, and even has a handy size-guide for quilt sizes which is helpful if this is your first quilting project.
Quilt Size Guide
Baby Quilts: approx 24”-30” square or 24” x 30”
Children’s Quilts: approx 36” – 42” square or 36” x 42”
Teenagers Quilts: approx 42” square or 42” x 48”
https://projectlinusuk.org.uk/patterns-and-tutorials/
High Quality Anti-Pil Fleece Fabric
Luckily we have long been supporters of Project Linus and you can read all about our collaboration on our blog about Project Linus UK .
Even luckier, Fabrics Galore is really particular about stocking high quality fleece fabrics and our Anti Pil Lambskin Spun Polyester Fleece is 150cm wide and a super soft fleece, perfect for quilt backing. What's more they come in a range of gorgeous baby-friendly colours.
Our Show Quilts
For those of you who haven’t seen our quilts at the shows (you really should come on down, they are fun we promise) here is what we have done. We have taken a traditionally soft furnishing quality cotton Panama, which has a similar weight to a denim as the quilt top, and backed it with fleece simply binding it in a coordinating cotton poplin then adding some small quilted details.
As we have said before these easy fleece backed quilts work as a play mat as well as a cosy blanket. They cut out the need for wadding making it a less expensive make. Usually we use about a metre of each fabric, which are both 140cm wide and have a very simple construction. The metre allows for a full pattern repeat so for example with Alphabet Animals you get the whole alphabet included so no one feels left out. Really it’s a win win…
Alphabet Animals Home Furnishing Cotton and Teal Fleece
Oeko-Tex Fabrics for Children
When looking for fabrics for children's makes, there are a number of things to look out for such as organic cotton and Oeko-Tex 100. Many of our fabrics are Oeko-Tex 100 (we even label them as such on our snazzy new website). You may be wondering what exactly that means. Well the Oeko-Tex 100 standard means it has been tested for harmful levels of 100 substances a sure sign that a fabric is as safe as it can be. Making it perfect for baby’s quilts as you can be safe in the knowledge that you have chosen the safest fabric for them to snuggle under. We have an entire collection of Oeko-Tex Fabrics, some of which aren’t suitable for quilting such as jerseys, but it’s still worth looking in case you fancy working on another children's sewing project.
Organic Cotton Fabric for Babies
Another great option for baby or children’s quilts is to use organic cotton as again there is a layer of reassurance that it has as few nasties as possible. In recent years Fabrics Galore has tried our upmost to expand our collection of organic cotton, to both reflect the mood of the sewing community, but also to push our suppliers to do better. In recent weeks we have got some wonderful new baby fabrics and we really love these monkey prints as they are so cheeky…
Organic Cotton Wide Width Baby Monkey
Perfect Baby Quilt Prints
But in terms of baby quilts we have so many favourite patterns that make either great additions to a patchwork quilt or would make a wonderful standalone quilt top. These are some of our favourite Oeko-Tex 100 cottons which are perfect for a baby quilt…
Worker Bee Yellow and Blue Cotton Dino Friends
Printed red and white cotton Albert and Bertie
And this is just the beginning, as we will continue to hunt out the best organic prints for you in the future too…
