5 essential tips for quickly finishing a baby quilt

Have you figured out the size of your quilt based on my post yesterday? Even if the recipient is little, it’s important to get the right quilt size for maximum satisfaction. This week, I’m showing you how to make a baby using PFAFF creative icon, stay tuned for that.

In this post, I want to talk about the 5 essential tips for quickly finishing a baby quilt. A topic equally as important in the process.

I know the stress involved in making a quilt for a friend who’s having a baby and you’re on a time crunch to making her a baby quilt. I remember my surprise when two of my friends said they were expecting twins! If this is happening in your life, these 5 essential tips for quickly finishing a baby quilt are very useful.

For a long time, we believed that newborns could only see in black and white. New research suggests that babies see about 5% of an adult’s visual acuity. What does this mean for us quilters? Go for bold colors to keep them looking. Researchers recommend the following colors: red, green, blue, purple, and “yellowish brown.” But remember to have a contrast between your fabrics so that they can see the geometric forms in the design.

I remember how happy I was to see my kids outlining the shapes and quilting on their quilts when they were babies! Whether it was when exercising on their tummies or just sitting in the chair. It kept them busy and intrigued.

Once a baby is 6 months old, they pretty much have the same visual acuity as an adult, you can go for more faded and light colored fabrics.

As I shared my thoughts on the various sizes to make a baby quilt yesterday, I want to highlight today a 20” x 30” size for a baby quilt as a gift. It’s really perfect for a newborn. And if you stick to that size, you’ll be able to make it in time for the birth as opposed to their graduation!

Another idea is to leave a portion of the quilt without any piecing. I have found that some parents were nervous that the seams of a quilt could be uncomfortable for their newborn. So I started leaving negative space in a quilt. It also enables me to finish the project a bit faster. Keep in mind that the average height of a newborn is 20”.

If you’re not sure how much negative space to include in your quilt, buy a newborn pajama and use it as a gauge for the length and width of the negative space. This will serve double duty as you can gift the little pajama with the quilt!

I know that the modern movement is all about solids, but I do suggest going for another texture as baby quilts will get dirty quickly and sometimes stains can leave a mark which will stick out like a sore thumb in the quilt forever!

Might I suggest you look into the Canvas collection by Northcott Fabrics? They have nice bold colors that are almost solids, but the texture is perfect to hide any stain.

As the quilt is meant for a baby, I’d like to state the obvious! Keep it all natural with cotton, which includes flannel of course. From the fabric for the quilt top to the backing, batting and threads!  Keep in mind that the quilt will be washed on many occasions, I’d say at least once a week, and it will be in close proximity of a newborn.

I hope these 5 essential tips for making a baby quilt have helped you figure out your next baby project. Looking forward to seeing what you made!

And don’t forget to put a label on your finished project!

I learned over the weekend how to embroider my name on a quilt using the PFAFF creative icon. I didn’t even have to get the user’s manual. It was all at my fingertips, on the screen!

I never thought it would be this easy!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog as I’ll show you a quick and easy baby quilt pattern using the PFAFF creative icon. Its features make the task of piecing and quilting pleasant and easy. See you then.