Earlier this year, one of my friends announced that she was pregnant with her first child. I debated for a while what to get her for her upcoming baby shower; after all, lots of relatives would be attending, and it was pretty much guaranteed that she'd be given all of the essentials she'd need and then some. So I figured that it might be best to give something personalized, something unique. And that's when it hit me: why not make the baby his very own blanket? Something that they could use in the crib, sure, but also as a play mat?
I've made T-shirt quilts before, and I figured, why not do roughly the same thing, but as a large patchwork quilt? And thus, my most recent craft project was born.
I needed to get as much of a good bargain as I could, since this blanket will require a LOT of materials. I waited until Jo Ann Fabrics was having another sale--they do these about once a month or so--and stocked up on as much material as I could. I also had a "15% off your entire order" coupon, which I could not have more enthusiastically shoved at the sales clerk.
Here's my Jo Ann's haul:
- Cotton batting, two yards for $8.98 (original price $17.98 for 2 yards, was 50% off)
- Ten 1/4-yard pieces of fabric, anywhere from $0.75-$1.50 each (original price $2.99-$5.99 per yard, 40% off)
- A large 3/4 yard fabric remnant from the clearance bin for $2.57 (original price $2.99 per yard, 50% off the original price per yard)
- Four "fat quarters" of fabric for $5.96 (original price $2.49 per quarter, 40% off)
- Three spools of thread for $3.00 (on sale for $1.00 per spool, originally $2.99 per spool)
- Two skeins of embroidery floss, $0.40 each
I also got about $4 worth of notions for myself, so in all that the trip cost me about $26 in materials. Not bad, not bad at all!
I didn't get everything on that trip, though. The one thing I didn't have time to get was the fabric for the backing of the quilt; that would have required looking for the extra-wide type of fabric, and I just didn't have the time for that. I also had quite a bit of interfacing left at home, so I didn't buy any. Lastly, I knew that I would probably need more fabric for the patchwork blocks on the front, but decided to wait for a bit and look around.
A few weeks later, Jo Ann Fabrics had an online sale, where I was able to snag 4 yards of wide broadcloth for about $10 (original $3.99 per yard, knocked down to about $2.40 a yard); not the best sale, but at that point, I just needed to get this done.
The final touch came as I pondered what to do for the front; something that would make it unique and personalized, in a way. And then I remembered that my friend had mentioned that she and her husband were making a "medieval fantasy" theme for the baby's nursery: knights, dragons, etc. And then the idea stuck: what if I did a feature on the quilt's front that tied into that exact theme? I began hunting the web to find something cute and relevant, which ended up being a little bit harder than I though. I ended up going to a website called Spoonflower, which lets users upload designs to make into custom fabric. It is hellaciously expensive; an 8'' inch by 8'' inch "test swatch" is $5. For comparison, you can get a full YARD of most fabrics at Jo Ann's for $5. So I ended up getting just that swatch and nothing else.
And thus, with my materials gathered, further planning could begin.... (i.e. to be continued in the next installment) See you all next time!
A few weeks later, Jo Ann Fabrics had an online sale, where I was able to snag 4 yards of wide broadcloth for about $10 (original $3.99 per yard, knocked down to about $2.40 a yard); not the best sale, but at that point, I just needed to get this done.
The final touch came as I pondered what to do for the front; something that would make it unique and personalized, in a way. And then I remembered that my friend had mentioned that she and her husband were making a "medieval fantasy" theme for the baby's nursery: knights, dragons, etc. And then the idea stuck: what if I did a feature on the quilt's front that tied into that exact theme? I began hunting the web to find something cute and relevant, which ended up being a little bit harder than I though. I ended up going to a website called Spoonflower, which lets users upload designs to make into custom fabric. It is hellaciously expensive; an 8'' inch by 8'' inch "test swatch" is $5. For comparison, you can get a full YARD of most fabrics at Jo Ann's for $5. So I ended up getting just that swatch and nothing else.
And thus, with my materials gathered, further planning could begin.... (i.e. to be continued in the next installment) See you all next time!
