My college roommate, Emily, is expecting her first kid in September, and I've been planning on things to make for this this baby girl ever since I first found out she was expecting. After all, making baby stuff means getting to work with cute prints and small projects, so it's easy to go a little bit overboard.
..I made some bibs and burp rags. The bibs are backed with white flannel and the burp rags are quilting cotton backed with chenille and are 12"x18". I used the same fabrics that I used for Chikage's baby gifts, and was able to get one bib and one burp rag out of a fat quarter (with a small scrap left over).
...I sewed a nursing cover (tutorial here). My fabulous male nursing cover model is back in action! I finished 20 minutes before Emily stopped by for a little visit. Thank goodness I had the fabric cut out in advance or I never would have finished it in time.
...and I made this quilt/blanket. The fabric for this is the Porcelina line by Michelle D'Amore from Marcus Fabrics. I actually purchased this before Emily found out that she was having a girl because it totally screamed "Emily's daughter," so I was really happy that she found out she was having a girl so I'd have a chance to use it.
I stalled making the quilt because I was trying to come up with the perfect pattern to use for the quilt. I had toyed with using a raw edge circle applique pattern, but raw edge circles are a bit too unfinished for Emily. I was going to do a simple charm square patchwork, but wanted to step up the patchwork for this. Then I narrowed down the piecing options to a disappearing nine patch or a box in a box, which I ended up using. I went with the box in a box because the dimensions in this tutorial created the right size square for the size backing I was using.
For the backing, I used a 32" x 35" piece of minky fabric. This is my first time working with minky and I was afraid that it would pucker or bunch weird when quilting because it is so stretchy. Based on the recommendation of the quilt store employee, I stretched it out on the floor, taped it down and applied a generous amount of spray baste. Then, I laid the patchwork top on the minky and pressed it down with my hands. I quilted it with a walking foot in the same way that I quilt normal quilts with batting and a fabric backing. I tried to minimize the amount of quilting I did, because I didn't want to pull on the backing too much.
I made a scrappy patchwork binding with each of the fabrics included in the quilt and attached the binding using this technique.
The finished blanket has a really light drape to it and the backing is so soft and cuddly. Now I want to make a grown up sized blanket with a minky backing like this.
I'm sorry. I can't stop laughing at your poor male model! ;) What a great sport. Kind of like last month when I made a twirly skirt for a little girl turning four and made my poor five-year-old son try it on for me. Several times. My husband was horrified. But hey, my model was the right size!
Posted by: Valerie | 26 July 2010 at 09:57 AM
How lucky is it that you and your college roommate are still close and that you are making her some wonderful baby gifts! The quilt is gorgeous and I'm glad you mentioned how you worked with the minky.
Posted by: Anne | 26 July 2010 at 10:17 AM
What a nice friend you are to spoil her with baby gifts. They are all so wonderful. Your husband is such a good sport! The quilt is very sweet and looks very soft and cuddly with the minky back.
Posted by: Trisha | 26 July 2010 at 10:36 AM
is great see you male model again :) he makes me laugh with the nursing cover on him...
you made a bunch of cute presents! love the quilt and the fabrics that you used! you friend is very lucky!
Posted by: rosamaria | 26 July 2010 at 11:00 AM
That's one lucky baby girl with so many goodies waiting for her when she arrives! Your husband is such a good sport for modeling the nursing cover, haha!
Posted by: Tong | 26 July 2010 at 11:00 AM
Wow, what great gifts. I love the giraffe print on the bibs, super cute. Great job with the minky on the backing. I've have the same concerns with it and have never tried it because I was too worried about how it would work out. Seems to have worked out great for you though, so I might give it a try in the future. Glad to see your nursing cover model is back, he sure does a good job.
Posted by: Cami | 26 July 2010 at 11:04 AM
beautiful work!
Posted by: Rossie | 26 July 2010 at 11:37 AM
So, did you not include any batting in the quilt? I'm thinking of backing a crib quilt for my daughter with minky too, but was planning to put a batting in. I haven't used spray basting yet, but might try it with this.
Posted by: adnohr | 26 July 2010 at 02:12 PM
They are all super cute, but it's hard to concentrate with the FABULOUS red door in the picture!
Posted by: Beth | 26 July 2010 at 03:24 PM
I love the nursing cover - how stylish! (even on Jon)
Posted by: Harriet | 26 July 2010 at 03:48 PM
what a wonderful collection of baby gifts - that quilt is wonderful - i love the binding, so clever!!
Posted by: melissa | 26 July 2010 at 05:07 PM
Wow what great gifts - I LOVE that quilt - the pattern is perfect for the fabric!
Posted by: Allie | 26 July 2010 at 08:14 PM
Fabulous gifts, all of them! That quilt is so precious I can hardly stand it... !
Posted by: CitricSugar | 26 July 2010 at 08:49 PM
Thats quite the plethora of gifts!!! They're all gorgeous! Love the nursing cover and your male model :-) Well done!
Posted by: Cristin | 26 July 2010 at 09:11 PM
Lol - I love the nursing cover model!! What a sweet collection of baby gifts. What bib pattern did you use? I need to make some of those.
Posted by: Amy Smart | 27 July 2010 at 12:33 AM
What a lot of lovely gifts! Emily must have been blown away!
Posted by: Debbie-Esch House Quilts | 27 July 2010 at 08:22 AM
Isn't it wonderful when close friends have babies? I know when my university flatmate had her first child I wanted to stitch absolutely every thing I could to inundate her, baby and family with gifts. I had to stop at quilt and bundle of handknitting. I'm sure your roommate will love the gifts. I know I'm very taken with the yellow and teal combination with just a touch of red.
Posted by: Amy Seven-Stitches | 27 July 2010 at 08:11 PM
Love that baby quilt. That backing is such a neat *surprise*.
Posted by: Jodi | 27 July 2010 at 08:58 PM
Thanks for sharing the nursing cover link, that will make a great gift for my SIL. I love the fabrics you use for the backing of the quilt, burp cloths and bibs. I really want to try a quilt with a snuggly soft backing, glad to hear it didn't pucker, I was worried about that too.
Posted by: Stephanie | 28 July 2010 at 08:05 PM
what wonderful baby gifts! thanks for sharing your thoughts on sewing with minky too.
Posted by: Nichole | 31 July 2010 at 05:20 PM
interesting! i never knew that minky quilts could be batting-free. thanks for posting your tips for working with it. :)
Posted by: carissaabc | 03 August 2010 at 11:46 PM
you are so talented! love them all
Posted by: cmv | 31 August 2010 at 09:05 AM