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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Christopher {a baby quilt tutorial}

If you need a baby quilt in a hurry, this may be the one for you. I cut and assembled the top in just a couple of hours.


Last week, Jo showed off an old quilt top that she'd picked up at Goodwill. I fell in love with the block and spent the next  couple of days trying to draft a scrappy version in my head.  Eventually, I gave up and started to cut pieces for a two-color version...and as soon as I did that, I could see exactly how the scrappier block would work. It probably would have helped if I'd drawn the thing out on paper.

For something I did because I couldn't figure out how to pull of my original idea, I'm really happy with the way that Christopher turned out. I didn't make this top to go with a particular backing fabric, but there was a novelty print in my stash that worked perfectly.


Want to make your own? The block finishes at 30" square and I added 2" borders to each side of mine to bring the finished quilt up to 34".


Cutting instructions:

By my math, you'll need less than 3/4 yard each of white and green. That may vary depending on how you cut your triangles.  

6 - 6 1/2" green squares
4 - 2 1/2 x 6 1/2" green strips
20 - 2 1/2" green squares

8 -- 2 1/2 x 6 1/2" white strips
16 - 2 1/2" white squares

You'll need to cut pieces for twelve 6" finished half square triangle units using your favorite method. I cut half square triangles from 6 1/2" strips of fabric using my Easy Angle ruler.  Or you could cut six 6 7/8" squares each from white and green and cut them in half diagonally.

Make four nine-patch blocks, four rail fence blocks, and twelve half square triangle units.


Assemble as shown.


Add 2 1/2" white border strips to all four sides, quilt and bind.



There's a list of my free baby quilt tutorials over in the sidebar and you  can find out when new ones are added by either following my blog or liking the Let's Make Baby Quilts Facebook page.

Note -- As much as I hate to do it, I'm turning off comments on just this post. The spam bots have found it and I'm suddenly getting 100+ repeat comments a day to moderate.

16 comments:

  1. That is really pretty too.

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  2. Such a pretty block and quilt! :)

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  3. This is beautiful, Michelle! Baby quilts are just my size! I think I will make it for a co-worker who is expecting!

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  4. I love this quilt! Single block quilts are some of my favorites and the two colors you chose are so pretty!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  5. Love this quilt!

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  6. Really pretty block! A scrappy one would be great. Pinning this tute, thanks!

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  7. Anonymous5:32 PM

    Thank you so much for the idea! love it!

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  8. You really make beautiful baby quilts. This is a pretty design, and looks like it would go fast. Thanks for sharing it.

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  9. Beautiful quilt!

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  10. I love the quilt and the final work!!

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  11. Such a pretty block - I think I will try to make one too!! Thanks for putting together a tutorial on this.

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  12. This is such a pretty quilt, but immediately I thought it would be a great tree skirt. It is the perfect size. Thanks for posting. I missed Jo's antique block.

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  13. I have a quilt front that I made as a signing quilt for a friends wedding--and I need to make a back for it--and I thought this would look lovely since it is all in greens--my question is can you tell me how much material and pieces I will need either for a queen or king quilt

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  14. 'Love it so much. Green is my favorite color :)

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