I love the ABC baby quilt. It's not just a keep-warm baby quilt, but also an educational one.
But you know what? You don't need to make it into a quilt, you can use individual blocks to make a bunting for the nursery. Today I'm making the letter T as an individual block and I'll show you how I added ties so it can be used in a bunting.
Making the Background for each Block
The pattern gives two options on how to make each block. You can use a fabric square and paint in the colored area (the pattern gives full details on how) or you can piece the block together. I decided on the latter to make my block.... using a pale blue dyed fabric for the colored area.
I went ahead and cut out the pieces. It was easy to piece so I had that done in no time at all.
Adding Applique
Next, I drew the letter T and pieces for the turtle onto fusible and pressed them to the back of the fabrics..... then proceeded to cut them out.
I pressed all the turtle pieces together on my Teflon Sheet so I could treat it as one applique piece.
Then added this and the letter T applique to the background block, pressing them in place.
Embroidery or Not?
Although the pattern says you can embroider the lines and name onto the block, there is no reason why you cannot use a fabric pen. This is what I did.
Stitching
Now, it's time to pick some threads to work with. Tip: Pull a strand out and lay it across the block rather than looking at the whole spool next to the applique. This is a much better way to see if the thread will be suitable.
At this point, because I'm not making the full quilt, I layer my block with cotton batting and a backing fabric. I will then stitch through all the layers as I stitch the applique. (To make the full quilt, you would join all the blocks together before layering them.)
I used free-motion stitching for the applique and embroidered highlights, and stitch-in-the-ditch to quilt around the colored area.
Binding and Hangers
Once all the stitching is done, I need to trim the block, removing any excess backing and batting ready to bind it.
To make a bunting, I need to attach some sort of hanger to each block. Ribbon looks nice so I grabbed some blue to match the block colors. The best way to attach this is to include it in the binding. Square bindings are very easy as they are just like adding a border.
When machine stitching the binding, I like to attach the binding to the back of the piece and turn it to the front to stitch it down. Doing it this way means I can stitch the binding down on the right side, making a neater job.
I position the ribbon so it will be stitched in when I attach the binding. The stitching on the block helped me line the ribbon evenly just down from the top on both sides.
Once all the binding edges are attached and given a good press, I roll the bindings over and fold them in place. Notice I pinned the binding perpendicular to the seam line. This ensures it doesn't move when stitching it down.
I cut the ribbon to length - approximately 12" each. Another idea would be to have the ribbon at the top to form a loop so they hang individually.
It would be so much fun to make all the letters and hang them around a nursery or child's bedroom. If you made one per week for the next 26 weeks, it would be done before Christmas. What a fantastic gift it would make!
Need to know more about this pattern? Check it out >> ABC's baby pattern
