Kid's Comfort Quilt Tutorial

Sometimes the best projects are the ones we give away.  I've just finished this lovely little Kid's Comfort Quilt to give away and am happy to share how I made it so others can make some to donate too.

The striped design features framed charm squares and is self bound with fabric from the back side.  

I decided to do this quilt as a present for the 4yr old relative of some friends.  She was recently diagnosed with stage 3 cancer after an unexpected tumor was discovered.  Unfortunately she's about to begin a long series of chemotherapy treatments.  I'd just gotten these fabrics as new additions for my shop (talk about providential timing!).  So I thought a special comfort quilt might help lift her spirits a little at this difficult time.  

I don't do a lot of quilts, so I kept the design very simple.  I was inspired by this Little Star Quilt, but made mine more basic so there was less to cut out and it was quick to assemble.  

While this quilt could be made with any fabrics (it makes a great baby quilt too), I choose some that would team with the theme of kicking childhood cancer.   For my main fabric I used this pretty fabric that I thought a little girl would love - full of words of hope, pink and butterflies:

The stripes feature coordinating inspirational script words like  blessings, gratitude, and love too.

There are also some specially themed charm squares:

The kid-themed messages are meant to help little ones fighting cancer to stay positive:

and feel brave:

I used this Let's Fight Together Childhood Cancer Fabric Panel to create them.

The messages are so sweet and they look nice with the inspirational-themed fabrics I used.  I also quilted some butterflies to echo the butterfly main fabric.

Which adds a nice butterfly design on the back too:

Finished size: 39 in wide by 44 in high 

Materials:
- 7/8yd Soulful Shades of Pink Inspirational Butterflies cotton fabric
- 3/8yd Soulful Shades Inspirational Words Pink cotton fabric
- 3/8yd Soulful Shades Inspirational Words Grey cotton fabric
- Let's Fight Together Cotton Panel (or 12 charms squares)
- 1 1/4yds Backing cotton fabric (at least 44 inches wide)
- Crib size lightweight polyester batting (45 in by 60 in)
- Notions: pins, rotary cutter, yardstick, iron, disappearing marker

All seams are 1/4 in.

Start by cutting out the squares from the Let's Fight Together panel (or cutting twelve 5 inch charm squares).

Next cut the following from the Inspirational Butterflies (main print):

(20) 1 1/2 in wide by 5 in high inner frame strips

(4) 2 1/2 in wide by 5 in high outer frame strips

(1) 39 in wide by 13 1/2 in high center stripe

(2) 39 in wide by 1 1/2 in high inner frame stripes

(2) 39 in wide by 2 1/2 in high outer frame stripes

From the Inspirational Words Grey cut:

(4) 39 in wide by 2 1/2 in high stripes 

From the Inspirational Words Pink cut:

(2) 39 in wide by 4 1/2in high stripes

From the backing fabric cut:

(1) 42 in wide by in 47 in high

Begin with the charm squares.  Starting with the square that will be furthest left, pin and stitch a 2 1/2 in wide strip to the left side of the square, with right sides facing.  Do the same on the right side with a 1 1/2 in wide strip.  

Stitch another 1 1/2 in wide strip to the previous strip, then another square.  Repeat with the remaining 3 squares except use another 2 1/2 in wide strip on the right side of the last square.  Repeat to create another row with the remaining 6 charm squares and strips.  Press seams toward the frame fabric.

For the top framed Row 1, stitch one of the 39 in wide by 2 1/2 in high outer stripes along the top edge and one of the 39 in wide by 1 1/2 in high outer stripes along the bottom to finish framing the squares.  

Repeat with the lower Row 9, but doing the remaining 39 in wide by 1 1/2 in high outer stripe on top and the 39 in wide by 2 1/2 in high outer stripe on the bottom.  Press seams toward the frame fabric.  

Take Row 1 and stitch Row 2 (a grey words stripe) to the lower edge.  Press seams open.  Stitch Row 3 (a pink words stripe) to Row 2's lower edge then Row 4 (another grey stripe) to Row 3's lower edge.   

Stitch Row 5 (center butterfly stripe) to Row 4's lower edge.  Repeat with remaining stripe Rows 6-9, Grey, Pink, Grey and lower framed row at bottom, pressing all seams open.  

Measure quilt top and cut batting to same dimensions.  With backing fabric pressed flat and open, right side facing down, lay batting then quilt top over it, making sure there is an even 1 1/2 inches of backing fabric showing on each side.  

Double fold backing fabric inward to create the binding and pin all around.  

To miter the corners, fold one corner upward at a 45 degree angle and then fold the perpendicular side of the corner upward and pin.

Top stitch binding edge all the way around close to the fold.  

Quilt as desired.  I decided to do a simple 3 part butterfly shaped design along the alternating stripes tracing a paper template with disappearing marker:

and a 2 part large butterfly design in the center stripe panel.

And topstitched around those lines.

I really hope the recipient likes it and this quilt helps make the tough days of chemotherapy ahead a little more comfortable.

I'm planning to help my kids do a few simple stripe flannel blankets next as a family service project for the charity Project Linus.  I'll be sharing those kids-can-make projects soon too. 

Crafted Blessings At A Difficult Time & How You Can Help

Over the weekend our daughter was in a car accident and, due to her injuries, had to stay in the hospital.  It was the first time anyone in our little family has needed an ambulance trip to the ER or been admitted to the hospital for an injury, so it was a stressful and scary time.  It happened when she wasn't with us, which made it even harder for me as a mom racing to the hospital to see what had happened.  I'd expected the only time we'd be at a hospital this year would be to bring baby #4 into the world in a number of weeks, which is a very different situation.

She'd thrown up on her security blanket immediately after the crash so she was really needing to feel comfort and couldn't have her most comforting friend right there.  During the night, while she & I slept in her hospital room, they put this beautiful quilt on her bed with a little stuffed lamb:

It was such a wonderful surprise gift and meant a lot at a time when we both needed a boost. I saw this label on the back that showed it was made by hand as a donation via Quilts for Kids and was touched that a fellow crafter took the time to create this to make our difficult time in the hospital a bit easier.

Since we've gotten home she's had it on her bed at night and kept it on her when she's been resting on the couch.  It's even a perfect match to the colors of her bedroom, which is an amazing coincidence.  She's recovering well, thankfully, and that quilt & the wonderful care we got from the hospital staff gave us some positive memories out of this experience.

In the past I'd done a few charity items like baby hats & preemie blankets, but being on the receiving end for the first time, it's reminded me how big an impact little personal touch donations like this have.  Once things settle down I'm going to make a little quilt to donate and pay it forward for another family.

I also feel like it's a message from above with how to make better use of my skills this year: "Do more projects like this".  I was just writing last week about not feeling like making things as much and how crafting felt like making more clutter rather than joy recently.   The idea of creating some things that will do some good for someone else and not just needlessly pile up in my house is just what I needed.  And it can be something the kids can assist me with, as well as help thin out the stash too, so nothing but positives.  

If you're looking for a new project idea, a crafting goal for 2018 or just want to do something nice for someone else who could use some help, consider one of these organizations that accepted crafted donations.  Using your crafty talents & gifts can make a big impact, as we've experienced firsthand, so share them!   

Quilts for Kids: quilts for children in hospitals, shelters or in need

Golisano Children's Hospital: surgical caps for babies & kids 

Grandma's Comfort: all sorts of crochet, knitted and sewn items from slippers to baby clothes to tote bags for women & children in need

Little Hats, Big Hearts: knitted & crochet baby hats for hospitals

Project Linus: blankets for children in need

American Hero Quilts: quilts for wounded soldiers

Project Snuggles: security blankets and toys for shelter animals

1 Million Pillowcases Challenge & Easy Pillowcase Tutorial

During the Easter season our family has tried to focus more on giving & charitable work. I've been looking for more opportunities to use our skills in more ways and teach my kids some sewing at the same time.  So the timing couldn't be better to share the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge!

I heard about this charity challenge through Crosscut Sewing Company.  Last month, American Patchwork & Quilting kicked off a donation drive of providing 1,000,000 pillowcases to charities like shelters, hospitals, clinics and missions.  Participating quilt & fabric shops have joined in to promote this charity drive, host classes and serve as local drop off locations for pillowcase donations.  

Crosscut Sewing Company is one of these shops.  This Massachusetts based fabric store and sewing studio (that also has a fantastic online shop for the rest of us), was generous enough to provide me with fabric & directions to make a pillowcase to donate. They even sent me some matching thread and notion goodies as a surprise.  All in the name of a good cause, which was really generous:

I was able to pick out the fabrics from their vast shop offerings, which was fun too.  I choose this happy ice cream and coordinating clock print from the Boardwalk Delight collection by Dana Willard.

The only thing I didn't think about in advance was that this was a directional print, which meant the usual way of sewing a pillowcase up "burrito style" would make the print sideways on the finished pillowcase, which I didn't want.  As a result, I did this handy tutorial variation.  With this, it's just as easy to do with fabrics that have a distinct direction and maximize all the fabric choice options.

How To Make A Directional Print Pillowcase 

Materials:

- 3/4yd main cotton fabric
- 1/2yd cuff cotton fabric
- Optional: 1/8yd small trim cotton fabric
- Rotary cutter/shears, iron

Cut the main piece to be 21 1/2 inches high by the width of the fabric.  Cut two 16 inch high cuff pieces and two 2 inch high trim pieces (also the full width of the fabric for those).



Press each the trim strips in half, wrong sides facing and match up the raw edges with one edge of the cuff fabric (right side up).  Place the main fabric on top, right side down, and sew with a 3/8 inch seam allowance.

Roll up the main fabric and wrap the other end of the cuff fabric over it:

Pin and sew over the original line of stitches:

Pull the main fabric out through the open side:

Repeat these steps on the other end, pressing the trim ends flat:

Now, fold it in half widthwise with the right sides out and stitch along the top and bottom sides with a 1/4 inch seam allowance and trim down the raw edge close to the seam:

Pull the pillowcase inside out and stitch 3/8 in from the seam edge to encase the raw edges for a nice finish inside:

I loved the idea of using craft skills to help others in need and thought this would be a great opportunity to get my kids involved too.  Once I finished mine, I got my kids sewing some with some fabric from my stash to make a couple more:

They were so proud of what they made and in gaining a little confidence sewing.  I sew a lot for my kids, but it felt really good to be sewing with them and doing it all for someone else made it more special.  
  

Now that we've gotten ours done, we're ready to donate.  I'm excited to have the kids help deliver them and update the counter with our contribution.



Last time I checked the counter it was at 715,021, so many more pillowcases are still needed to reach the million goal.  This is such a fun & easy way to do a little something for someone else that could use some kindness at a difficult time.  I hope you'll join us!  To find a participating shop, check the counter, download free patterns and watch a how-to video, visit the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge website HERE.




I was not financially compensated for this post.  I received fabric from Crosscut Sewing Company, to make a pillowcase to donate to charity.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.   For my complete disclosure policy, click here.
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