How to Create A Quilt From Ready Made Blankets

I was visiting the MixxMade forums this morning and responded to a request for help on how to turn to "ready made" blankets into a quilt. Here is my answer. I figured if one person is asking, others might want an answer as well .

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Wash and dry the 2 new fleece or other fabric blankets. Do so to make sure you're not going to go to all this work and have them fall apart on you. It will also take care of any shrinkage so make sure you dry them as you will once the quilt is made.

You can use batting or not depending on how "fluffy" you want the quilt to be and the type(s) of blankets being used. If so, layer as follows:

1. Top right side up
2. Batting
3. Back right side down

Pin around 3 sides leaving one of the sides open (leave the shortest side open). Stitch around all 3 sides pinned (seam allowance will depend on what measurements you want the completed item to be). Trim the edges. I find with fabics this thick it helps to stagger the width of the seam allowance which means trimming each layer's selvage separately. Clip the corners diagonally but first double stitch the corners. Turn the quilt, ironing the seams if necessary. I find it also is good to iron the entire quilt to flatten to tie. Just be careful to not stretch the fabric. Steam and lift the iron to move rather than sliding it. Turn in the edges of the open end, press, pin and sew closed either by hand on or by machine.

Finally find some colorful colorfast yard and using a yarn needle, tie the quilt using double square knots in several places to secure the batting and fabric together. You can create a design or follow the design on the quilt top. YouTube has several how to videos available to walk you through other types of knots and more specifics on how to hand tie a quilt. Voila!! You have a new quilt!!

Have a great Wednesday!
Hugs,
Diane

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