Doll Quilts

I took a week break from my blue scrap quilt to complete a set of four doll quilts. These will be a gift for a long distance friend's daughter. A simple patchwork design makes these vibrant and fun, and were a quick project. Pillows and cases were sewn to match.

These were specifically made for an American Girl doll bunk bed with a trundle. For those who know what an American Girl doll is will also tell you how expensive the clothes and accessories are for this classic toy. Fortunately, there are plenty of crafty folks who make accessories and trinkets for this 18" doll and sell online (usually on Etsy).

Below are the four quilts made in the past week:

I used fat quarters mostly to save time at the cutting counter. Quilt batting was used to stuff the pillows, and I made a separate case that comes off the pillow. A simple 'X' machine stitch quilt pattern was used for the blanket itself.

Originally, I made this item for my own child's American Girl doll using scraps.

Blue Scraps-Handquilting

Quilting is not an inexpensive hobby. Fabric can cost $5-10 per yard, plus the batting and backing. It can cost well over $50 or more to make a simple quilt.

This is where saved scraps come in; it greatly reduces the costs of the quilt top (maybe even the backing or batting) when saved from previous sewing projects. I don't have a large a large scrap stash because I use my scraps to gratify the quilting urge when finances are lean. Now is such a time, and it's quite amazing what can be produced with what is already on hand.

I have produced a few scrap quilts, some donated to the Linus project, and others given to family members. The great challenge in scrap quilts is to get them to appease the eye. It requires coordination of the right colors and of course ensuring enough scraps will make the right size product.

My latest scrap project was very gratifying. It blended many scraps from other quilts that had a lot of calming blues. I like blue, but it seems that I have done so much with it lately. This quilt has eaten up a lot of my scrap stash in blue so I can count on not feeling that obligation to do another blue quilt anytime soon.

This quilt will be about 54" wide by 67" long, not quite a twin size, but a large lap quilt. Since the size is just too much to quilt on my machine, I am hand-quilting it on my Ulmer quilting frame. I have only used this frame once for my prized wedding quilt, but it is a tool I will use for the rest of my life (at least as long as I can quilt).

Next post hopefully will show the finished product!

Introduction

For the past ten years, I have made many quilts. Some large and extravagant, and some small and plain. I have never had a formal class and am completely self taught in my skill. Among my circle of friends, I am the only one who makes quilts. This blog is for the sole purpose to share and engage with others who have an appreciation for this craft.