# Going to make my first quilt



## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Well I'm going to do it. I'm going to make a twin size quilt for my oldest daughter. She's turning 6 in April.

I have made baby quilts...mostly by sewing two solid pieces together and using yarn to tie them. I have only made one quilt that involved sewing pieces together to make a top. It was also tied with yarn.

I'm not a newbie seamstress. I have altered wedding dresses for Pete's sake, so why does making a quilt sound so daunting? I'm just sewing 8x10 rectangles.

These are the fabrics I'm using. I'm still not sure I like the blue with the other ones except the frogs but my daughter likes it.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Do you know how to strip piece? It would save you lots of time.


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Maura said:


> Do you know how to strip piece? It would save you lots of time.


I had to google strip piecing but apparently I do...this is my son's quilt









This is how I was planning on putting my daughter's together. I don't know if it's strip piecing or not. But I was going to sew all the rectangles in their rows first and then sew the rows together replicating the pattern diagnally. 









I don't follow patterns often. I just picture something in my head and try to make it happen.

This will be the first quilt I actually quilt rather than tie with yarn. Not sure what I want to do there. Maybe just stitch in the ditch.


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## Kris in MI (May 30, 2002)

What you have in mind is exactly what I did two years ago for my first 'quilted' quilt. I took an idea I had in my head and made it for my granddaughter; just sewed together rows of squares, then stitched in the ditch. It was a huge success--isn't that the most important part: that the recipient likes it?

I say go for it! And if your daughter likes the blue fabric, then it belongs in her quilt


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## SLFarmMI (Feb 21, 2013)

I think the blue works nicely. It can play off the blue flowers in the frog print and the yellow background in the yellow print. I would suggest you add a couple of solids into the mix to give the eye somewhere to rest in the midst of all the prints. A couple of solids would help the prints to pop.


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## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

I think i would also add a few solids in to break up the prints. I would also cut out one of the frogs end enlarge it for a template then stitch this into the solid squares. If not the frog maybe a flower. I think 10 inches is sort of far apart for quilting myself. I like to keep things nice and tight. Just my opinion. I like the blue in there too.Please post a photo of the finished product..


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Strip cutting is using a rotary cutter and mat. You get crisp straight edges cutting this way. Chain piecing is where you set up your work so you sew one unit, and another one after the other.


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Ah ok. I just used child labor to cut the pieces out. She was all too happy to help. Don't really trust her with a rotary cutter yet but I had her practice cutting straight with some scissors on some scraps I marked for her. The pink ones already had the rectangles drawn on them, so I just made a cardboard template to mark the others with.

I don't want to do anything too complicated because I'm going to teach her how to use my machine by sewing the squares together. Helping will make it all the more special to her. I have the stitch length set to two so mistakes are easily undone with a seam ripper. 

My almost 4 year old is probably going to be jealous and want her own, so I might attempt a scrappy with a pattern after this.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

If you are making squares or rectangles, you don't need a template. Get a quilter's ruler and on the wrong side draw a straight line from edge to edge. One long strip. Then, measure out the correct length (could use the template for this), draw the line and cut. You can even cut two strips, sew them together, then cut this into units. If your rectangles are 1:2, you'd be cutting squares. For the first quilt you show, I'd sew the narrow purple strip to the wider brown strip, then press and cut. You'd then sew these sets to each other and ultimately use sashing (purple strips).


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Well, it's been over a year. Better late than never though, right? I finally got around to finishing the quilt top. Just need to figure out where to go from here.


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## DW (May 10, 2002)

Looks good!


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## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

Turned out very nice....


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Thanks. We went to the city yesterday and my daughter chose a dark purple backing and some flowery purple fabric for the border. She is so excited to be learning how to sew.


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