Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial - Binding the Quilt

This Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial includes a series of five blog posts.

1. Intro & Getting Started
2. Cutting the Fabric Pieces
3. Machine Piecing the Quilt Top
4. Layering, Basting & Quilting
5. Binding the Quilt - You're Here!

Cuddly Quilt Kits are a popular line of baby quilt kits available in the Baby Quilt Kits section.

The purpose of this Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial is to help beginners work through the process of making one of these cuddly quilts for baby.

After layering, basting & quilting, you're ready to bind your quilt!

I recommend using a durable double fold bias tape for binding your baby quilt.  You'll need about 4 yards of binding plus some extra to use as practice material.

This tutorial will show you how to apply binding to your baby quilt.

Using Pre-Made Binding

I used a pre-made binding from Wrights.  The following procedures show how I applied Wrights 1/2" Wide (called Extra Wide) Double Fold Bias Tape to my baby quilt.

Wrights also makes a 7/8" Wide Double Fold Bias Tape (called Quilt Binding) that works the same way.  You might consider this if you're using a thick quilt batting or just prefer the look of a wider binding.

I recommend practicing your binding technique using scrap materials to be sure you're happy with the appearance before starting on your baby quilt.

The first thing to notice about the folded bias tape is that one side is slightly wider than the other.

It's important that the wider side of the tape ends up on the back side of the quilt.  This helps to ensure that the sewing line is completely covered when the tape is wrapped around to the back and hand stitched in place.

1) Unfold the bias tape and place the narrow side right side down on the quilt top, aligning the opened up right edge of the tape to the edge of the quilt.  Start sewing about 4" from the start of the tape, leaving a tail of tape that is not sewn down.

2) Use your sewing machine to stitch inside the first fold line from the right edge.  Make sure to keep the right edge of the tape aligned & even with the edge of the quilt.

3) To achieve a nice mitered corner, you need to stop sewing 3/8" before you reach the corner.  Note:  this distance applies to the Wrights 1/2" wide double fold bias tape shown in this tutorial.  If you're using a different binding tape, you'll need to adjust this distance to equal the seam width you're using.

4) I use a pin to mark where I need to stop and then back tack to secure the stitches.

5) Turn your quilt counter clock wise 90-degrees.  Then, fold the bias tape up at a 45-degree angle to the corner as shown.

6) Fold the bias tape over on itself so that the fold is aligned with the top edge of the quilt.  Align the right side of the tape with the edge of the quilt.

7) Back tack and sew starting at the top edge, continuing to stitch in the first fold line from the right.  Repeat the above steps as you work your way around the remaining 3 corners of the quilt.

8) After joining the ends together, wrap the binding around the edge and secure with binding clips to the back of the quilt.

9) Fold the tape at the corners to create a nice mitered appearance on the back and secure with binding clips.

Turn your quilt over to ensure you have a nice mitered corner on the top side too.

10) Hand stitch the binding to the back using a slip stitch.  I use a short needle with a small round eye and sharp point.  I cut an 18" single strand of thread and run it through a thread conditioner.

I like to make my binding slip stitches about 3/8" apart.  When stitching around the corners, be sure to secure the mitered corner with a few stitches before continuing on to the next side.

If you've never done a slip stitch before, I found this video on the Monkey See website that will show you How to Sew a Slip Stitch.

After hand stitching the binding to the back, your baby quilt is complete & ready for baby to enjoy!

Making Your Own Binding

If you'd like to learn how to make your own continuous bias tape binding from a coordinating fabric, the How to Bind a Quilt video on the Connecting Threads website is an excellent quilt binding tutorial.

This video will take you step-by-step through making and applying a double fold binding.  I've watched through the video and recommend it as a very helpful DIY quilt binding resource for beginners.

I hope this Baby Quilt Kit tutorial has been helpful and inspires you to make your first baby quilt!

Weekend Kits specializes in Modern DIY Art & Craft Kits for adults, teens, and kids.  Our goal is to help make crafting convenient, easy, and fun for all skill levels.  Stop by today and be ready to learn & create something new on your next Weekend at Home.

Thanks for visiting the Weekend Kits blog!

Punch Needle Kit Giveaway at Weekend Kits!

The October Craft Kit Giveaway has ended - be sure to check back for future giveaways!

Giveaway Results: 

The winners of the October Craft Kit Giveaway are Nat and Scody. Congratulations to both winners! Please Contact Us with your shipping info and we'll have your prizes out to you right away.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway and joined us on our Facebook page.  Please stop by now & then for updates on new product arrivals, promotions, and to hear about our next giveaway!

Original Post:

It's time for the October Craft Kit Giveaway at Weekend Kits. Two winners will be randomly selected to win a Dimensions Nature Collage Punch Needle Kit plus punch tool & embroidery hoop!

Nature Collage Punch Needle Kit

Dimensions Punch Needle Kits include foundation fabric, presorted cotton thread, and easy instructions.  The fabric is preprinted with the punch needle pattern and ready to punch.

The two winners will also receive a Dimensions punch tool and a Susan Bates 8-inch hoop la embroidery hoop.

If you've never tried punch needle before, this is a great chance to give it a try.  If you're an experienced punch needle embroiderer, maybe this will be your next project!

Visit the Punch Needle Kits section of the store to see our complete selection of punch needle kits for beginners & experienced crafters.

How to Enter (it's super easy):

Just leave a comment here telling us about your favorite kit or kit category at Weekend Kits and you'll be entered to win.

Future Giveaways (be the first to know):

If you haven't joined us on our Facebook page, we'd love to meet you there. Once you're there, just click the "Like" button at the top of the page and we'll always keep you updated on new product arrivals, promotions & future giveaways!

You can tell your friends about this month's giveaway by clicking the "Like" button at the top or bottom of this post.

Giveaway Details:

- You have until Thursday, November 3 at 12:00pm (EDT) to enter.
- Two winners will be chosen using Random.org's number generator.
- Open to US & Canada shipping addresses only.
- You must be 18 years or older to enter.

How to Claim Prize:

The winners will be announced here on Friday, November 4. We don't collect email contact info at time of entry, so it's important to check back here to see if you won. It might be helpful to add a reminder to your calendar. Updates are always posted on our Facebook page, so if you've joined us there, you're set.

If you include email info in your profile or within your comment, we'll send you an email if you win. Winners will have 3 days to Contact Us with their shipping info to claim their prize. If not claimed within 3 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Weekend Kits specializes in modern DIY craft kits for adults, teens, and kids. Our goal is to help make crafting convenient, easy, and most of all FUN for beginners & all skill levels.

Good luck and thanks for visiting the Weekend Kits blog!

Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial - Layering, Basting & Quilting

This Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial includes a series of five blog posts.

1. Intro & Getting Started
2. Cutting the Fabric Pieces
3. Machine Piecing the Quilt Top
4. Layering, Basting & Quilting -  You're Here!
5. Binding the Quilt

Cuddly Quilt Kits are a popular line of baby quilt kits available in the Baby Quilt Kits section.

The purpose of this Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial is to help beginners work through the process of making one of these cuddly quilts for baby.

The quilt making techniques shown in this series can be applied to any of the Cuddly Quilt Kit designs.

After machine piecing the quilt top, you're ready for Layering, Basting & Quilting.  The Cuddly Quilt Kit instructions provide a simple turn-inside-out method without batting for finishing the quilt.  While this will certainly work, many quilters like the appearance and added loft that batting provides.  This tutorial will show how to add a batting layer and discuss two alternate methods for quilting.

Layering

Your baby quilt will be comprised of three layers - the backing fabric, a batting layer, and the pieced quilt top.

The bottom layer will be your backing fabric.  Place the backing fabric, right side down, on your work surface, smoothing out any wrinkles.  Use masking tape to secure the backing to the surface.

The middle layer will be batting.  I'm using Warm & White cotton batting in craft size.  This is an excellent quilt batting for beginner quilters. It's easy to work and can be quilted or tied up to 10" apart.

Place batting on top of backing and trim to the same size as the backing.  Here's a photo of my backing and trimmed batting.

Next, place your pieced quilt top, right side up, on the batting.

Basting

Once you have the three layers stacked, it's time to baste them together.  Basting is a way of temporarily holding the layers together to keep them from shifting while quilting.  I like to use basting pins, equivalent to size 1 safety pins, for this step.

Start basting in the center of the quilt and work your way out to the sides and corners, smoothing out wrinkles as you go.  Place basting pins about 6 inches apart.  Be sure to pin through all three layers.

For smaller quilt projects, closing the pins goes quickly and doesn't require any special tools.  If you plan to do more quilting, especially larger quilts, I recommend using this handy pin-closing tool.

It's called a Kwik Klip.  Place the opened pin in one of the grooves and use your other hand to close.

It makes pin basting go faster, is easier on your hands, and keeps fingers away from the sharp point.

It can also be used in reverse to easily remove the basting pins.



After closing all your pins, you're ready to start quilting!



Quilting

Quilting permanently secures the three layers of the quilt together. I'm going to show 2 methods you can use for your baby quilt kit project - hand tying and/or machine quilting.

The distance between hand ties or machine quilting depends on the batting you're using in your quilt.  You'll need to check the label on your batting so that you know how far apart you can place your quilting.  The batting I used can be hand tied or quilted up to 10 inches apart.

Once you know this distance, you can plan out where you'll put your quilt ties and/or machine quilting lines.  For example, you could add ties to your center blocks and then, depending on your quilt design, do some machine quilting along the outside borders.  Or, you might decide to use only hand ties or only machine quilting, depending on your personal preference.

Hand Tying

Hand tying is a quick & easy method of quilting.  You'll need embroidery floss, a curved quilting needle, and scissors.  As with basting, it's best to start quilting in the center of the quilt and work your way to the outside, removing basting pins as your go.

Thread the curved needle with the embroidery floss (all six strands) and push the needle down through all three layers of the quilt.  I recommend checking the back side of the quilt to verify that the needle went through all the layers.

Bring the needle back up within a 1/4 inch from where the needle first went down.  Going beyond this point could cause puckering to occur in the fabric.

Pull the thread through and cut the floss, leaving about 4 inches of thread length on both sides for tying.

Tie a surgeon's square knot as follows:

1. Place the right thread over the left, wrap twice, and pull tight.
2. Place the left thread over the right, wrap twice, and pull tight.
3. Trim threads to desired length.

Machine Quilting

For machine quilting, you'll need a special presser foot, called an even-feed or walking foot, for your sewing machine.  This foot will ensure that all three layers of the quilt move evenly through the machine without shifting.

I recommend using a quality 100% cotton thread in a light, neutral color for machine quilting.  I'm using the YLI machine quilting thread in white.  You could use an invisible quilting thread for the top if you prefer (also referred to as monofilament thread).

Set your machine to make 8-10 stitches per inch.  Sew along a piece of scrap fabric, measure the number of stitches per inch, and adjust your machine's stitch length if necessary.

A simple "in-the-ditch" quilting technique is a great choice for beginners.  This is where you make long, straight stitches along the seams of the quilt top.  Use your hands to spread the fabric as you quilt along one side of the seam.  Keep the stitch line very close to, but not inside, the seam.

Once all of the quilting is complete, use your rotary cutting tools to even up the edges of your quilt, trimming away excess material.

Here's a photo of my quilt with hand ties and machine quilting.

After trimming the edges of your quilt, you'll be ready to move on to the next post in the Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial - Binding the Quilt!

Weekend Kits offers a unique collection of Art & Craft Kits across a variety of crafting categories. Our goal is to help make crafting convenient, easy, and fun for all skill levels! Stop by today & be ready to make a baby quilt on your next Weekend at Home.

Felt Christmas Stocking Kits - Handmade Keepsakes

With the busy holiday season just around the corner, fall is the perfect time to start crafting for the holidays.  We've been busy adding new holiday kits to the store, with new products arriving weekly, including all new Felt Christmas Stocking Kits!

The Finishing Touch Felt Stocking Kit from Bucilla is a new felt stocking design for Christmas 2011, featuring Santa and friends working together to add a final gold star to the top of the tree.

This felt applique kit includes stamped felts, cotton floss, sequins & beads, needles, instructions, and directions for personalization.

I've made several of the Bucilla felt stockings over the years and have always been very happy with the final result.  I'll share a few best practices from my experience making these kits.  First, be sure to spend sufficient time reviewing all of the paperwork included in the kit before starting any work on your stocking project.

I find it helpful to have a marking pen and/or highlighter on hand to circle or highlight important sections of the instructions as I need them.  I also find that checking off the assembly steps as I complete them makes it easier to find my place again, especially when starting back in after a break.

The Nativity Baby Felt Stocking Kit is a lovely Christmas stocking design from Bucilla, with the words "Joy to the World" embroidered above a beautiful nativity scene.

This felt applique kit includes stamped felts, cotton floss, sequins & beads, needles, instructions, and directions for personalization.

The felt pieces are pre-stamped with ready-to-cut applique shapes, which are numbered for easy identification.  It's best to only cut the felt pieces out as you need them for the project.  If you cut them out early, you'll also be cutting away their numbers, which will make it difficult to find the piece you need later on.

When it's time to start cutting out the felt applique shapes, you'll want a pair of sharp scissors designed for detail cutting.

I suggest something similar to these Precision Cut Scissors from EK Success.

I've used these scissors and find that they work well for cutting out the small and intricate felt shapes.

You'll need polyester fiberfill for stuffing certain applique pieces. This helps to create a dimensional effect for your stocking.

Felt stocking kits take some time to finish, so it's nice to be able to put them away & bring them back out as needed.  Here are a few optional items that will help keep your kit organized and portable.

• A tote or project bag for keeping everything together.
• An embroidery floss organizer to hold the separated colors.
• A small plastic bead box with locking lid & dividers for storing the beads, sequins, and needles.

If you're thinking about making one of the Bucilla felt stocking kits, I recommend starting now, in mid-October, so that you can enjoy the process of making the stocking without being rushed to finish.

I think you'll find that the results are definitely worth the time.  Your finished Christmas stocking will be a special handmade keepsake for a loved one to enjoy every holiday season.  My older daughter still has her Santa Bear stocking I made for her 24 years ago!

And, here's a photo of the Black Bear Bonfire stocking I made for my younger daughter just last year.

If you're short on time, I suggest choosing a felt stocking design with larger & fewer applique pieces and less detailed embroidery.

Another option is to try one of the new felt Christmas stocking kits from Dimensions.  This is a nice new line of felt craft kits, perfect for beginners & skilled crafters looking for a fun weekend project.

The Festive Tree Felt Christmas Stocking Kit includes presorted cotton thread, precut felt shapes, needle, and easy instructions.

The felt pieces are precut and ready to stitch.  They're also prepunched with small holes for easy embroidery & hand sewing.

The Dimensions kits are a great option for busy crafters to make a quick & easy felt stocking!

Visit the Christmas Stocking Kits section to see our complete selection of felt stocking craft kits.

Weekend Kits offers a unique selection of DIY Art & Craft Kits from well known brands as well as independent artists.  Explore a variety of creative project kits for adults, teens, and kids.  Stop by today and be ready to create a handmade holiday keepsake on your next Weekend at Home!  Thanks for visiting the Weekend Kits blog.

Christmas Card Kits - DIY Holiday Greetings!

Christmas Card Kits make it easy to send DIY Holiday Greetings to family & friends!  We're adding to our selection of card making kits with holiday-themed collections you won't want to miss.  You'll find them in the Card Making Kits section of the store.

I just started making cards this year and have really enjoyed it.  If you've never made your own greeting cards, these card kits are a great way to give it a try.  Start now and you'll be ready to create your own handmade Christmas cards this holiday season!

The Christmas Village Card Making Kit from TPC Studio includes a generous variety of coordinating paper craft materials for making 8 Christmas greeting cards.

Kit includes a 8 folded holiday cards, 2 cardstock cutout sheets, 1 chipboard sticker sheet, 1 rub-on sheet with jewels, 8 envelope liners, 8 envelopes, and card making instructions.

You can make your cards according to the pre-designed layouts shown in the kit or mix things up to create your own unique versions.

The Blitzen Christmas Card Kit is a creative holiday card making kit from Bo Bunny.

Kit includes 8 die cut cards plus envelopes, 2 sheets of die cut elements, 1 sheet of adhesive chipboard elements, 1 clear sticker sheet, and instructions.

All of the materials you need to make 8 handmade designer Christmas cards!

You'll need an adhesive on hand for assembling your cards.  If you're not sure which type to use, I've found that the ZIG 2 Way Glue Pen works very well for card making applications.

Card making kits make it easy for beginners to make beautiful Christmas cards.  They're also a great way for families to spend time crafting & creating together.  Gather the kids around for some card making fun this holiday season!

Visit the Card Making Kits section for details on these kits and to see our complete selection of card making kits for Christmas and everyday greetings too.

Weekend Kits offers a completely unique selection of modern DIY Craft Kits for adults, teens, and kids.  Stop by today and be ready to make your own Christmas cards on your next Weekend at Home.

Thanks for visiting the Weekend Kits blog.

Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial - Machine Piecing

This Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial includes a series of five blog posts.

1. Intro & Getting Started
2. Cutting the Fabric Pieces
3. Machine Piecing the Quilt Top - You're Here!
4. Layering, Basting & Quilting
5. Binding the Quilt

Cuddly Quilt Kits are a popular line of baby quilt kits available in the Weekend Kits store.

The purpose of this Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial is to help beginners work through the process of making one of these cuddly quilts for baby.

I'm making the Simply Chic design for this tutorial.  Visit the Baby Quilt Kits section of the store to see our complete selection!

Once you have all of your blocks cut, you're ready for Machine Piecing the Quilt Top.  This post helps beginners apply basic quilting techniques & best practices to piecing the quilt top together. This tutorial is intended to be a supplement to the instructions provided with your kit.  Be sure to read through all of the instructions before starting your baby quilt.

Setting Up the Machine:

Key items to consider when setting up your machine for piecing include the needle size, thread, stitch length, presser foot, and throat plate.  All of these areas should be checked prior to sewing.

Needle Size

I always like starting any new quilt project with a new sewing machine needle.  For machine piecing, I typically use a size 80/12 sharp needle, which I find is a good size needle for piecing medium weight fabrics.  I prefer using a sharp point needle for piecing, but a universal point needle would also work for this project.

Thread

I recommend using a quality 100% cotton thread in a light, neutral color for machine piecing.  The bobbin should be wound with the same thread.  I'm using the YLI machine quilting thread in white.

Stitch Length

When you have your machine set up with needle and thread, it's time to ensure the proper stitch length.  For piecing, you want to set your machine to make 12-15 stitches per inch.  Sew along a piece of scrap fabric, measure the number of stitches per inch, and adjust your machine's stitch length if necessary.

Seam Accuracy

Sewing accurate and consistent 1/4" seams is an important part of machine piecing.  To do this, you need to have some type of visual indicator as part of the set up of your sewing machine.

Presser Foot

Many machines come with a special presser foot that is designed to sew 1/4" seams when the right edge of the foot is lined up with the edge of the fabric.  If you have this type of presser foot, use it for machine piecing.  If your machine doesn't have a 1/4" presser foot, it's OK, you can alternatively use markings on the throat plate of your sewing machine.

Throat Plate

Some throat plates have a built in marking for 1/4" seams.  If your machine does not have a 1/4" mark, then you'll need to place a strip of masking tape on the throat plate to use as a guide for sewing 1/4" seams.  Use a piece of scrap fabric to test, measure, and adjust the tape as necessary until the seam is accurate.

Sewing the Blocks:

The Cuddly Quilt Kit instructions provide excellent layout diagrams for assembling the blocks and rows.  Arrange the blocks according to the layout diagram provided in your instructions.

Usually, when I'm piecing an all cotton quilt top together, I don't use pins when sewing smaller blocks together.  But, because of the different fabric types used for the Cuddly Quilt Kits, I recommend using pins, especially when sewing the plush and satin type fabrics, which tend to shift while sewing.

Be sure to read the tips provided in your instructions for working with plush fabrics.  It can really be a challenge to sew dissimilar fabrics together accurately, even for experienced quilters.  Follow the tips as suggested, but don't worry too much about getting everything to line up perfectly.  Baby will love it anyway :)

Remember to pin & stitch your blocks with right sides together.

You'll need to pull the pins out as you sew along.  I always stop my machine in the needle-down position, pull the pin out, and then continue sewing.

Ironing the Seams:

You'll need an iron, ironing board, and press cloth for pressing your seams after sewing.  Usually, when I'm working with all cotton fabrics, I don't use a press cloth.  But, with the plush & satin fabrics in the Cuddly Quilt Kits, it's really important to use a press cloth to protect the fabrics and iron from damage.  Simply place the press cloth between the iron and fabric when ironing.

Always press seam allowances to one side, according to the arrows shown on the layout diagram.  Seam allowances are pressed in opposite directions from row to row so that they nest together nicely where the seams meet, minimizing bulkiness.

Sewing the Rows:

Arrange completed rows on a table according to the layout diagram provided in your instructions.

Pin rows right sides together, matching seams.  I like to place pins at the seams first, making sure they're aligned.  Then, I go back and place additional pins between seams.

After you sew all of the rows together, press seam allowances to one side, according to the arrows on the layout diagram.  Here's my completed quilt top - ready for quilting!

Once you have your completed quilt top, you'll be ready to move on to the next post in the Baby Quilt Kit Tutorial - Layering, Basting & Quilting!

Weekend Kits offers a unique collection of Art & Craft Kits across a variety of crafting categories. Our goal is to help make crafting convenient, easy, and fun for all skill levels! Stop by today & be ready to make a baby quilt on your next Weekend at Home.