Nurse cookies

To honor the lovely Nurses out there, here's to you!

Tie Quilt

I love pink. "Pink is my signature color."

I love Teal too. 

Pink and teal together.... Heaven! 

So, I guess that's why Im in love with this cute little tie quilt. 

It's pink and teal! 

Also, it was fun and easy to make. I hope you enjoy! 

Materials Needed: 

It's the size of a standard crib mattress but you can measure it however you desire. 

1 and 1/2 Yds of desired printed material (top)

1 and 1/2 Yds of batting (middle)

1 and 1/2 Yds of snuggle flannel material (bottom)

1 Spool of matching yarn

1 thick needle

Quilt binding (for edge, at Dream weavers they give a pretty good tutorial. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of it. My bad.)

Baby quilting frame (or make one, see here)

Standard needle and matching thread (for hand stitching an invisible stitch on binding)

Sewing machine

Step 1: Layer your fabric (the sandwich way)

I used the floor to help me sandwich these babies together! Start with your bottom (or top) layer of fabric. Lay it on the floor flat, right side against the floor. Grab your batting and lay it evenly on top of your bottom layer. Lastly, layer the top material evenly onto the batting. Viola! You have just layered your quilt.

You can pin the sides together if you want. It helps so you can more easily transfer your layered fabric to the quilting frame. I find ,however, that the batting helps keep it together. You happily decide for yourself. :) 

Oh and it's ok if your edges don't align perfectly, we will trim them later. ;) 

Step 2: Get-er on the Frame 

Your frame will not look like mine if you have the legs. I don't have much room in my tiny apartment at the moment, hence the legless, ghetto-ish quilting frame. Im so sorry I don't have a better picture but I hope you get the idea. 

As you clamp your material to the frame, the idea is to get a tight fit. It helps to have the layers tight so that the "tying" will be easier. 

Step 3: Marking where you are to tie

Now it's time to mark your quilt. You can mark with pins, but I found myself wishing otherwise due to pricking my fingers a zillion times. I recommend a washable pen or chalk. Then start in the bottom of your "picture" frame and mark where you would like the ties to be placed. I marked mine about every 3 and 1/2 inches away from each tie. 

Step 4: Connect the dots.. la la la la...

After your chalking attack, your blanket should have a heap of dots everywhere. Now it's time to connect them. Thread needle with a long piece of yarn and go to town. Fell free to sing, "connect the dots...lalalala.... connect the dots.... lalalala!" (humor me, it's late;)

Also, don't forget the material that is hiding UNDER the clamps. Simply undo your clamps and adjust as needed to cover as much blanket as possible. This is always my "favorite" part. :) 

Step 5: Lines and the big cut

Once you have connected your dots, your quilt should look like this. Ta Da! Grab your handy dandy scissors and cut in the middle of the line of yarn. (see pictures) You should end up with a bunch of pieces to tie in a knot. 

Step 6: Tie away baby! 

 Tie. Tie. Tie. Tie. Tie...... well you get the drift. Tie all your cute little ties together. My Mother taught me to tie Right over Left and Left over Right. She said it helps keep the tie longer, so I do what she says. She is one smart cookie. :) 

Your lovely ties once completed! YAY! That was tiresome.... go take a break and eat some chocolate for a reward. 

Step 7: Trimming

Trim your excess edges so that all your pretty layers are even and straight. :) As for corners, you can either stop here or make a curved one. I think the rounded corner is cute. Just grab a bowl, trace and cut. (see pictures)

Step 8: It's Binding Time! 

Grab your binding, unfold it and pin your edges together. Right side of cute fabric to right side of biding. Sew 1/4 inch along seam to connect binding and blanket together. (does that make sense?) After you sew the FRONT side of your binding together, fold it over your edge and HAND stitch the other side. (great tutorial HERE)

 Step 9: Enjoy the fruits of your labor and eat some more chocolate. :) 

Seriously. Chocolate helps. I love chocolate. It is my friend. Mmmmmm. 

Let me know if you have any questions. Im all ears and love to help! I love your comments! Have fun with it and let me know if you make one! I'd LOVE to see how it turns out! :) 

Loves,

Rachel