Make a Memory Quilt with Baby Clothes

Do you have a lot of old baby clothes kicking around? Not planning to have another little one, but not willing to just throw them away either? A memory quilt could be the perfect option. It is something that is useful right through adulthood and incorporates all those cute little things that you loved so much.

How complicated the memory quilt is really depends on your skills as a quilter. If this is the first time you have attempted anything like this, you will probably want to stick to a pretty basic design. You could do simple squares, sewn together, or four squares together to make a larger square and separated by strips of another fabric to tie them all together. There are plenty of basic quilt squares on the internet, choose one that looks doable.

For more advanced quilters, the quilt blocks can be more complicated. Incorporate triangles and more elegant designs into the quilt, or find a traditional design that you like and use that.

You will want to make sure that the pieces you plan to cut are small enough to utilize the baby clothes. Seams don't look good in the middle of a quilt block, so see if you can't fit your template between the seams of the baby clothing. You can do up a sample template with paper first, then make a sturdier one out of cardboard to help you cut properly.

Infant clothing tends to be made of stretchy material. This is really not the best fabric for a quilt, so try to use mostly non-stretch items unless you are accustomed to sewing with this type of material. Cotton dresses, fuzzy sleepers, etc. work best and these fabrics can be mixed and matched in your quilt.

If there is a cute design or appliqué that you would like to include in the quilt, try to get it on the block when you are cutting the fabric. However, this isn't always possible, so you may need to cut the design out, leaving a border and then hand stitch it onto the quilt block. You can also buy baby appliqués at the local sewing supply store and use them to spruce up your quilt.

Once you have your quilt top done, you'll need to add a backing. Soft flannel or an old sheet is perfect for this. Sandwich the quilt batting between the quilt top and the backing and stitch up the edge. You can either quilt the top to the back, or do it the lazy way, pulling tufts of yarn through from the back and tying them off in the front every few inches. This helps ensure that the batting doesn't bunch up in one place.

A memory quilt is a wonderful and practical way to get rid of those bags of baby clothes without having to part with them. You can keep the quilt yourself or give it to your child to use.