Quick Handmade Quilts and Comforters

I love making basic patchwork square quilts, but these days I don't have the time. A recent invitation to a little girl's birthday party left me stumped for a while, as we are as low on money as we are on time. Luckily for me, though, I remembered something my mother had given me several years ago-a ready-made patchwork quilt top and it's matching fabric backing. It took me two days to put it together (only because my sewing was interrupted constantly by three little boys), and when I'd finished I had something beautiful, hand sewn, and very much appreciated by the birthday girl and her mother.

Most craft stores, as well as Wal-Mart sell fabric that can be easily turned into quilt tops. If you just want the quilted look, you can find fabric woven into square patterns that are easy to follow with a needle and thread. If you like the patchwork look, you can buy printed patchwork fabric, but you can also buy pre-pieced real patchwork. It's more expensive than plain fabric, but it will save you hours and hours of time that piecing your own quilt top would take. When you buy your top fabric, also choose your backing material, filling (either batting or thick filler fleece, depending on how heavy you want the quilt to be), coordinating thread, and coordinating blanket binding. You, the seamstress, get to choose the size of this quilt. For the child sized comforter pictured here, I used about two yards of each fabric, 45 inches wide. Depending on the size of the comforter, you may need two or three packages of binding. Before you begin the quilt, sew the end of one length of binding to the end of the other, and press the seam, so that you have a continuous length ready.

Once you have all your materials, you can begin to lay out the quilt. Make sure you have a large clear working space, either a big table if you have back troubles, or a clean floor, if you're spry. Lay the fabrics out in this order-backing (right side down), filler, quilt top (right side up).

Having lined up the three pieces as best you can, pin them together, and then take a needle and long piece of thread, and quickly baste them. This shouldn't take you too long-you just need to make enough long stitches through the quilt the keep the pieces from shifting as you sew. Make a row of basting stitches up every other or every two rows, and then baste diagonally once (or twice for extra secure pieces). If necessary, this is the time to trim your pieces so that they are even, straight and have perfect corners.

Once you have the basting stitches in place, you are ready to begin on the binding. Lay out your binding on the edge of the quilt, right sides together. If you're uncertain about your ability to keep the edges lined up, you can pin each side as you get to it, but you can also use your hands to keep the binding in place. Turn the end of the binding up (away from the quilt top) a quarter of an inch so that you won't have a raw, fraying edge showing there. Stitch the binding to the quilt, with about a ½ inch seam.

In order to make nice corners, when you reach the end of one side of the quilt, sew nearly to the edge, but not quite. Back tack, and then cut your threads. Turn the quilt, ready to sew the next side, and fold your binding up so that the edge lines up with the new edge of the quilt, and the excess fabric is folded and lined up against the edge you just finished sewing. If you need to pin in place before beginning the next seam.

If you need to, pin the binding down at the corner, and begin sewing the next side of the quilt. Again, start a little before the edge, not right at it. Repeat this process until you have sewn the binding to all four sides of the quilt. Overlap the end of the binding with the beginning, and again turn the raw edge up.

If you pinned your binding to the quilt, remove all pins, but keep them close at hand, as you will need them for this next step.

Fold the unsewn edge of your binding up to the seam you just made, and then fold the entire thing over the edge of the quilt, making sure that the backside of the binding will cover the seam line. If it doesn't, open it again and make the first fold a little smaller. Then, pin it all together again. This time, you will need to pin the whole binding down, because otherwise the folds will simply spring apart, even if you iron them beforehand.

At this point, if you have a lot of time, you can hand hem the binding in place. Quite honestly, this will result in the nicest finish, but it is time consuming and finger-cramping. With this quilt, I machine finished the edge. Because I was sewing with the back of the quilt and binding facing me, I made sure to use a bobbin thread color that coordinated well with the front of the quilt, so that the seam would not show. The color of the top thread doesn't matter that much, since it will be on the back side of the quilt, but if you like, you can choose a color that matches the binding.

When you get to the corners, the binding will naturally fold over nicely, but if it doesn't, work it a little until you get a nice little fold. That way you won't need to worry about hand sewing up corners and such. If you get the back corner of the binding right, you will notice that the front side of the corner has made a nice, neat little fold by itself.

Sew your finishing seam neatly and nobody will care that it was machine stitched.

When your binding is done, remove all pins, and pull out your basting stitches as well. At this point you can decide if you want to quilt the comforter, or, as I did, simply use yarn or embroidery thread to make knots in some of the squares. Doing one or the other is important, as it keeps the filler from breaking up and shifting in the wash. To do the knots, decide beforehand what pattern you want them in (straight across rows, diagonal, in a central heart shape?). Use a large needle, and start from the top of the quilt-push the needle through to the back, and then, as close as the exit point as you can get, push the needle back through to the top. Snip your yarn or thread so that you have two loose ends, long enough to tie off in a double knot. Once you finish the knotting (or quilting), you're finished with the comforter. Congratulations on a job well done!