Help! Advice for a novice quilt maker??

[Tensmumym]

I've been going through our old baby clothes and love the idea of making some of them into a quilt. However, my sewing skills amount to darning socks and putting on buttons. Do you think I would be able to make something half decent where the stitches aren't too obvious? Thanks.

[MrsFlannel]

I did this with my DDs old dresses. I chose only cotton things...nothing with any stretch in it as that's harder to sew. All I did was cut the clothing into squares of the same size...then I machine sewed them all together in strips...so about 10 squares together....stitch down one side of each square to attach them to one another. Then when I had about 7 long strips of squares, I sewed them all together to form one piece....then I used some quilting in the middle and a piece of nice gingham cotton for the back and sandwiched it all together. I put bias binding all round the edges to finish it off.

Then I had to put a few stitches into the centres where the squares met...this made it appear "quilted" and stopped the centre layer from shifting.

[Tensmumym]

Thanks very much MrsFlannel. I don't have a machine so would aim to do it by hand. Can I ask what bias binding is?

[Jellyrollquiltmom]

My first quilt was made from Dd's baby clothes, and that's what got me hooked! I would advise these things:

1. Give yourself a 1 cm border on whatever you make. So if you want a 10 x 10 cm square, cut it out as 12x12
   
2. Make a simple motif, like a 9 patch block (like sudoku or noughts and crosses). Your fabric will create the interest.
   
3. Keep making those 9 patch blocks until you have enough for the right overall size. Iron all the seams to one side as you go. This means you're not handling huge amounts of cloth and you can take your project with you for spare moments.
   
4. Only when you have enough blocks, lay them all out and decide which goes where. Turn them 90 degrees to look better and avoid same squares next to each other. The "duds" can always go next to the wall!
   
5. You might want to make a "windowpane" border between the squares so it's not so busy. Your choice.
   

You'll have an heirloom to cherish! When I look at Dd's duvet cover (wasn't interested in batting or binding at the time), it holds so many memories I don't see any of the quilting "mistakes" I made.

[Jellyrollquiltmom]

There are some interesting videos on Youtube. The Missouri Star Quilt Company ones are lovely, but they use a sewing machine. Don't underestimate the phrase "iron towards the dark side" in your best Darth Vader voice. It avoids annoying shadows showing through!

[Tensmumym]

Thanks very much Jellyroll. Such good advice from everyone.