My friend, Jen, recently asked me to make a baby quilt for her to give to her friend who is expecting. Jen was a bridesmaid in her friends wedding so she wondered if I could make a quilt from the bridesmaid dress that she wore. I was a little unsure - the dress was made of chiffon and satin - but decided to give it a try.
(Talk about pressure!)
Jen picked out the following pattern, taken from Pinterest.
The Pinterest quilt is made with denim. I decided to use a mixture of fabrics. Since I didn't want to use all chiffon and satin, plus different textures are good for babies to explore, this seemed like the best option. Before starting the project, I went to Joann's and shopped the whole store, picking out different blues. Here's a tip.... When I went to the cutting counter at Joann's, I asked for 1/8th of a yard of several bolts. The employee at the cutting counter said she would give me a sample off the bolt of 4 inches of fabric. I chose to go that route so several of the fabrics I chose were free. I kept asking her if she was sure it was okay to just take 4 inches and she assured me it was. Bonus!
Here's the first block I made. The sashing is 1 inch. Notice the rectangular piece.... It's from the bodice of the dress.
(I didn't think about taking a photo of the actual dress before I cut it up. Doh.)
The biggest challenge of this quilt was working with the little 1 inch squares. It would have been easier if I had been using just calico fabric. But the jersey and minky and flannel and several other pieces tended to stretch. I did use stabilizer on the back of several, just help with the stretching. It did help but not completely.
The textured fabric really added a lot to the look of this quilt. It's fun to run my hands over the different blocks. Jen loved the finished project and said her friend gave it rave reviews. I would definitely make this quilt again and I would use this pattern if I ever made a denim quilt.
