KEEPING DOLLY COZY

Quilted Sleeping Bag

Quilted Sleeping Bag Tutorial:

1.When your baby sister asks Santa for 'blankets for Dolly' you do what you can to help the big guy out! There are several ways this can be done, this is simply the way I made them and thought you may find it useful if you have small people who also want to keep their Dolly warm.

Cutting:

All squares are 2.5 inches the amount you need will vary depending on the dimensions of the doll you are making for. Dolly is 18 inches tall and is similar to the American Girl type dolls so the below is what I needed to accommodate her size and dimensions.

Front Panel

56 squares for top

Binding (1) 2.5" x 15"

Backing (1) 18" x 16"

Wadding (1) 18" x 16"

Back Panel

77 squares for top

Binding (1) 2.5" x 75"

Backing (1) 24" x 16"

Wadding (1) 24" x 16"

I wanted a scrappy look to mine so I raided my stash and found fabrics I knew the small person would like and would be appropriate for Dolly. You can literally use anything to make these.

Assembly:

1. Sew the squares together using a quarter inch seam, I alternate pressing my seams to the left or right for each row which makes it easier to nest my seams. You can use whichever method you prefer.

2. If you are using 2.5" squares and making the same size I am, your Front Panel should measure 16" x 14" once the rows (I did 7 rows by 8) have been sewn together. The Back Panel should measure 22" x 14" once the rows (I did 11 rows by 7) have been sewn together.

3. Layer the Front Panel with the wadding and backing and quilt as desired. Repeat for the Back Panel. 

Personally I use pins and NOT glue to baste as it gets stuck in the needle and machine parts - obviously use whichever method you prefer.

I kept my quilting simple by doing straight lines on either side of each seam line, keeping them 1/4 inch apart by using my 1/4 inch foot. There is a mini tutorial on this in my Instagram Guides.

4. Trim down the Front Panel to your desired finished size, for me this was 16" x 14", using the binding strip 2.5" x 15" bind one short edge of this panel leaving 1/2" hanging over each side.

Putting the sleeping bag together:

1. Trim down the Back Panel to your desired size, for me this was 22" x 14" and then place it right side DOWN so your patchwork/top will be against your worksurface. Place the Front Panel right side UP on top of the Back Panel.

 

2. Match up the bottom corners on both panels and pin in place. 

3. At this stage you can either sew an 1/8" stich line around the whole of the sleeping bag to hold the panels together and then bind as normal OR as I did, pin the panels in place and go straight to binding them together.

Both methods work in the same way, so it makes no difference how you finish off this step, it depends how confident you feel.

Repeat to make as many sleeping bags for Dolly as needed! 

If you need any help working out sizes or number of squares for a different doll, please get in touch and I'll do my best to help you.

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

Especially when you get Great Presents!

It's no secret I have an addiction to fabric - so this is always a sure win when buying a present for me, but as a quilter I quite often get asked what 'good presents' to buy are. So I thought I'd put together a little list of things that have caught my eye recently or that I generally can't do with out in case anyone was struggling with what to buy for the quilter/sewer/crafter in their life.

This is not sponsored or affiliated in any way, simply my opinions on things I like, thing I use regularly and things I would recommend to others.

1. Wonder Clips/Clover Clips/Quilt Clips

I'll be honest I was quite late to the party with these and had been quilting for around 6 years before I actually bought some of these to see what the fuss was about - game changer! I honestly don't know why I didn't see sense sooner, they really are a 'wonder' when binding and make the job so much easier. You can pick them up from just about anywhere.

2. Wool Pressing Mat

This was one of my new purchases this year, I love it and it's permanently set up in my sewing room. They come in a variety of sizes so you can get whichever would suit your needs - my advice would be to get the biggest one you can accommodate on your work table! Far easier and much less cumbersome than having to set up the ironing board all the time. Again these can be purchased from several places, but I got mine here.

3. 1/4 Inch Quilting Foot with Guide

This is an absolute God send and one of the very first things I treated myself to when I first started patchwork and quilting 'properly' - most brands of sewing machine have them but they are brand/machine specific. You will need to know the exact sewing machine the person you're buying for has, to make sure it'll fit the machine and work properly.

4. A Block of the Month Program

There are so many out there, it can be really tough deciding which one to go for so my advice is think about what you want to gain from it - do you want to learn or try something new or do you want to expand a certain set of skills? Then have a look what is out there that'll help you achieve that goal. I've looked at so many at one point they all blurred together but for next year I've decided on The Pattern Club by Quiet Play.

5. Replacement Rotary Cutter Blades

Never underestimate the power of a new blade! They really can make all the difference when a project requires lots of cutting, or even just replacing it if you've had the same one on for a little while - you'd be surprised how quickly they can become blunt. You will need to make sure the blades you buy are the correct size for the Rotary Cutter you've got/the person you're buying for has but you will find that they are widely available from a variety of places.

6. Seam Ripper and Stiletto Combo

The discovery of this is one of my favourite things to come out of 2020, I was able to shop small and support a local craftsman by purchasing this fantastic little device - they come in all manner of colours and designs all hand crafted and just beautiful! One side is a seam ripper, the other is a stiletto perfect for feeding tricking points and sample pieces through the sewing machine, both tuck neatly away to avoid any stabbing of fingers when not in use. Pencole Pens and Turnings is the place to go for one of these beauties.

7. Fabric Gift Vouchers

As I said I'm a fabric addict - you can never have enough and buying it is a totally separate hobby to actually using it! Pretty much everywhere does vouchers of some kind but some of may favourite smaller places to support are the following because I've always had excellent above and beyond customer service, super fast shipping and just general loveliness!

- Cow and Giraffe

- Olive and Flo Handcraft

- The Crafty Mastermind

- The Fabric Fox

- The Purple Stitches

- The Eternal Maker

So there you have it, a little guide of happy shopping for the Crafty person in your life. 

If you've got any recommendations for things you can't craft without I'd love to hear about them you can get in touch in the usual ways.

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx