5 simple sewing notions make fun blocks for a fidget quilt

Yesterday on QUILTsocial I showed you how to use UNIQUE SEWING Self-Gripping Fastener Strip – 25cm (10″) – White,  UNIQUE Webbing 25mm x 10m (1″ x 11yd) – White, an ELAN Trench Buckle – 45mm (1³⁄₄″) – Brown, ribbon and twine from the UNIQUE CREATIV Trim Pack – Black & White and beads to make 3 different blocks for a fidget quilt.

Today, I’ll use 5 more sewing notions to make the remaining activity blocks.

Magnetic snaps block

To make the first block, I’ll use 2 packs of UNIQUE SEWING Invisible Magnetic Snaps – Sew-On – 12mm (¹⁄₂″) – 2 sets,  and some wool felt along with ribbon from the UNIQUE CREATIV Trim Pack – Black & White.

The first step is to insert 3 magnet halves into one of the 5½” x 6½” quilt sandwiches, between the quilting lines and underneath the top fabric, and stitch around them to keep them in place.

Slide 3 magnet halves inside the quilting lines and between the layers of the quilt sandwich.

Next, I’ll cut 2 – 2″ squares from 3 different colors of wool felt and stitch them together, leaving 1 side open to slip a magnet half inside.

Sew 2 squares of wool felt together to make a pocket and then insert one half of a magnetic snap.

I’ll trim all 4 edges of the wool felt squares with my  SOFTKUT Pinking Shears (Scissors) – 8¹⁄₂″ (21.6cm), slide in a 6″ piece of ribbon, and sew the remaining side closed.

Slip a ribbon inside the pouch and stitch it closed.

To complete the block, I’ll stick the felt magnets to the magnets in the quilt sandwich and arrange the ends of the ribbon so they line up with the edge of the quilt sandwich. I’ll use my UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs to secure them in place and my sewing machine to baste the end of each ribbon to the edge of the 5½” x 6½” quilt sandwich.

Clip the ends of the ribbons to the edge of the quilt sandwich and baste in place.

Zipper block

For the next block, I’ll topstitch the COSTUMAKERS General Purpose Closed End Zipper 20cm (8″) – White – 1700 and 2 lengths of red gingham ribbon from the UNIQUE CREATIV Trim Pack – Red & Green to 1 of the 3½” x 9½” quilt sandwiches.

Topstitch 2 pieces of ribbon and a zipper to the quilt sandwich.

Next, I’ll sew a length of the green heart ribbon on top of the zipper ends and trim the ends of the ribbon with my OLFA RTY-2/DX—Deluxe Ergonomic Handle Rotary Cutter 45mm.

Sew a ribbon across the ends of the zipper and then trim the ends even with the quilt sandwich.

Parachute buckle block

For the parachute buckle block, I’ll topstitch some red gingham ribbon onto 2 – 11” lengths of UNIQUE Webbing 25mm x 10m (1″ x 11yd) – White. The UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs easily keep the ribbon and webbing together while I stitch.

Center and clip 1 length of red gingham ribbon to each piece of webbing.

I’ll fold the 2 lengths of webbing in half and thread them through the 2 sides of the UNIQUE SEWING Double Adjust Parachute Buckle – Plastic – 25mm (1″) – White then take the raw ends of the webbing and clip them in place along the 2 short ends of a 4½” x 6½” quilt sandwich. The last step is to baste the ends in place with my sewing machine.

Thread the webbing through the sides of the parachute buckle and then secure the ends to the sides of the quilt block.

Buttons and elastic block

For my last activity block, I’ll use large buttons from the  CRAFTING ESSENTIALS

Bottle of Buttons – Pink Tones – 75g (2.6oz) and 4 – 4″ pieces of UNIQUE Braided Elastic 3mm x 3.7m – White. I’ll attach them to the last quilt sandwich that is 5½” x 6½”.

Use buttons and narrow elastic to make the last activity block.

This block is super simple to make. First, I’ll fold the pieces of elastic in half and baste the ends to the edges of the quilt sandwich. Then, I’ll sew on the buttons so each fits inside 1 of the elastic loops.

Sew on the folded elastic pieces and then the buttons.

Wow! That’s all the activity blocks finished. It was fun experimenting to see how notions such as UNIQUE SEWING Invisible Magnetic Snaps – Sew-On – 12mm (¹⁄₂ ″) – 2 sets, UNIQUE Braided Elastic 3mm x 3.7m – White, UNIQUE SEWING Double Adjust Parachute Buckle – Plastic – 25mm (1″) – White, UNIQUE Webbing 25mm x 10m (1″ x 11yd) – White and COSTUMAKERS General Purpose Closed End Zipper 20cm (8″) – White – 1700 can be used to make different aspects of the quilt.

I can’t wait to see what this fidget quilt will look like when it is all sewn together, and tomorrow’s the day! See you then.

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: Use hook and loop tape to make peek-a-boo windows in a fidget quilt

Go to part 5: 6 easy steps to assemble a quilt using the quilt-as-you-go method

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