Darlene Zimmerman - Baby Quilts with Sweet Appeal: 5 Quick Baby Quilts for Boys & Girls

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The Quilts

Choosing fabric for a project can be the most enjoyable part of the whole process. Dont be afraid of this step! Start with one fabric you really like and pull the coordinating colors from it. Or, even easier, use one of those coordinated fat quarter bundles you have purchased. Those fabrics have been selected by experts in the quilt shop, or may be part or all of a fabric collection, in which case the fabrics are designed to work together!

You can choose the same fabrics for a small quilt that you would pick for a large quilt. The scale of the design does not have to be small. Choose a large design if it looks good cut into smaller pieces. Also choose a larger print for the border or large units in the quilt such as alternate blocks. If in doubt, make up one block before cutting the whole project.

You may choose to pre-wash your fabrics or not. They lose some of their body when you wash them, and you may have some loss with raveling. A little spray starch or sizing can restore the body. If you are eager to start a new project, you can simply pretest for color bleeding by spritzing a small area of the fabric with water, placing a white fabric over it, then ironing. If you get color transfer, perhaps youd better pre-wash.

Ironing the folds out of the fabrics before cutting is a necessary step for accurate cutting.

Accuracy is always important in the cutting process, but even more so with little quilts; there is less room for error. Also, the pieces will fit together more readily if youve taken the time to cut them accurately. Some tips for accurate cutting:

• Work in good light, daylight if possible.
• Iron the fabrics before cutting.
• Cut only two layers of fabric at a time. Any time you save in cutting more layers will be lost when the pieces dont fit accurately.
• Keep your tools from slipping; use the film or sandpaper that adheres to the backside of the tools.
• Use a sharp rotary cutter and a good mat. Mats do wear out after a time, as too many grooves get cut into them. Replace blades and mats as needed; this is not an area to cut corners (no pun intended!).

Quarter-inch seams are so important! If at all possible, find a 14" (6mm) foot for your sewing machine. They are well worth the small investment.

If you have problems with mad feed dogs chewing up your fabric, try these tricks to tame them:

• Insert a new needle, preferably a smaller one.
• Clean your sewing machine, particularly the fuzz under the throat plate.
• Consider switching to a single-hole throat plate (instead of the wide opening for zigzag).
• Chain-sew whenever possible.
• Begin and end with a scrap of fabric, an engine and caboose.

Its a fact of life, sometimes we make mistakes or the pieces dont fit properly. Fortunately, the seams on little quilts are short and the pieces small, so any un-sewing goes quickly. However, dont get hung up on perfection. Fix the areas that bother you (learn from your mistakes!) and move on to the next step.

Remember the purpose of pressing is to make the seam/unit/block/quilt FLAT. Keep that thought in mind while pressing. I prefer to iron from the right side whenever possible. Pressing arrows are given in the diagrams. If you use these, most, if not all, of your seams will alternate.