Doll Quilts

A few months ago my husband and I were getting ready to leave the house with about 30 minutes to spare. We had an errand that required driving for a while then waiting in the car for a while, (possible a long long time) and then driving home.  I detest down time with nothing to do, so I scrambled around looking for something to take with me to work on.  I enjoy hand sewing a lot and needlework seemed the best option. I didn’t have a thing I could grab and go with so like a mad person I grabbed my rotatory cutter and some fabrics and quick put together a small doll size quilt top. I haven’t had time in years for actually making a full size quilt.  I have wanted to make some doll quilts for the grand kids to play with and I wanted them to look like full size quilts in miniature.

(All of my photos here seem to be a little lopsided. I think I was holding my camera at a bit of an angle. The quilts really are fairly squared up).

So began my doll quilt collection.  That first one is a bit of a mess, corners don't match so well, because I was rushing so much to get it put together. I have three made now and I love making them. Now please, those of you who are expert stitchers; don’t judge me here. I have some issues with my right thumb and forefinger so my perfect stitching days are over. That doesn’t mean I can’t hand sew just because I like it and the kids really love my little quilts. I’m sure each grand child will have at least one of these little quilts if not several. It gives me something to do with my hands and also gives me a sense of accomplishment when I finish one.

I didn’t use a pattern but cut my squares 2 ½ inches making a finished size of 2 inches each. The finished quilts are about 20 inches in size. I machine stitched them together and just kept adding fabric where I thought I needed it.  Then I added some simple embroidery. After that I sandwiched a piece of white flannel between the pieced top and the backing. Regular batting seemed too thick. All fabrics are pre-washed of course.  Then its basted to hold it all in place and I put it in an embroidery hoop to hold it while it’s quilted; starting from the center out. It’s easiest to making the backing an inch or so larger all the way around and then fold it over the raw edges and stitch down when the quilting is finished instead of binding it.

 On this one I cut the squares in half then stitched them together to make the pin wheels.

If you are someone who has always wanted to make your own quilt but felt intimidated to try it, this would be a great option for you because of the small size. They are beautiful and fun; and perhaps you have a little person in your life that would love to get one of these as a gift.

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