Chenille Quilt

Each new baby needs their own special quilt.

I had the opportunity to make a quilt for my dear friends' baby girl.

This is quilt is very special because of the back...a chenille quilt! 

To begin, make the top anyway you like, there are so many options. I found a mix of purples and yellows perfect for a baby girl. The top is 4 patch and fences, but do whatever you want.

Then pick some coordinating fabric for the chenille back, I picked 4 different flannels, all with similar colours.  Making a chenille quilt can be a good option if you have lots of fabric and no batting. This kind of quilt gets its warmth and fluff from the many layers of fabric, not from batting. Now layer the quilt top, right side up, and then 4 layers of backing fabric, all right side down. You kind of make a quilt layer cake. When all your layers are stacked and secured with pins you can start to sew.

 The important thing with this quilt is to sew on the diagonal/bias, it is a must! We are going to make a whole lot of cuts and if you sew diagonal lines it will become soft and fluffy, but if you sew straight lines (parallel or perpendicular to the selvage) it will become a mess of fraying threads. Sew a diagonal line through all the layers about every half inch or so.

This takes a lot of time and patience, oh, and a lot of thread. Before you get going, wind up a few bobbins, it will make your life a bit easier to have them already prepared. Then just sew, sew, sew!

Once all the lines are done, stop and admire your work. Nicely done!

Now grab your sharp scissors and flip the quilt over, we are going to start making this quilt into a chenille quilt.

Cut through the troughs. It will feel weird to cut up a project you have been working on for hours, but trust me, and try to ignore your sweaty palms. I cut through 3 of my 4 layers of backing. This leaves the quilt top and one complete layer of flannel intact, and provides 3 layers of softness.

See here on the backing...3 cut layers and one intact layer.

Keep it up, you have to cut through each trough, and your hand will ache and your mind will be numb, but it will be worth it!

Gorgeous! So cuddly for baby.

Now attach your binding.

Once it is all done, put the quilt in the wash. Yep, a quick wash or a simple rinse and spin. Then put it in the dryer. This will help to fray the cut edges just a bit and it will make it super soft. A chenille blanket is perfect for a baby, the more you wash and dry it the softer it gets. So no need to worry about spit up or spills, it just washes off and makes an even nicer quilt in the end.

Here it is, put to good use, in baby J's nursery!