How to Make a Raw Edge Baby Quilt Tutorial

o   I like to use flannel or minky.

-          1 yard white cotton for the top

o    Cut to 30 x 35 ½

-          Minimum of 120, 2 ¼ inch squares fabric

o   I can get 36 squares out of 6” of 42” wide fabric.

o   I like to use 10 – 12 different fabrics, but you can use as many or as few as you want.

-          Rotary cutter
       Cutting Mat
       Ruler

-          Quilt basting spray

-          Iron and ironing board

Now you are going to iron your grid on so you know where to place the squares. It’s very important to take your time and measure these correctly, these will help you make your rows nice and straight and evenly spaced. You are going to be making a grid of 2 ½ inch squares. I have tried many different ways of making the grid, drawing it on with a fabric pen or chalk, using a tailor’s marking tool to draw lines and ironing. Ironing is by far the fastest way to make the grid in my opinion. But if you’d like to do it another way you are more than welcome to. Begin by folding down the FOLDED edge of the LONG side 2 ½ inches and ironing. Then from that ironed fold, fold it another 2 ½ inches. Do this until you have 6 rows.

   After those are all ironed, rotate it the other direction, remember to fold down from the FOLD. You will iron 5 rows this direction.

When you open it up it should look like this: 

 Make sure all the creases are ironed out of your back fabric. Lay it out RIGHT side DOWN. Lay your white top fabric on it RIGHT side UP. (So the fabrics are WRONG sides TOGETHER). Just be sure you have a couple inches of the back fabric around all the sides of the top fabric. 

 Use your basting spray to hold the two pieces together. I smooth the fabrics out then fold back half of the top layer and spray then smooth it out again, then do the other half.

Now you are going to lay your squares out. Do this however you please, random or pattern. I cut all my squares then count how many I have of each so that I know how many quilts I can make with them. Then I determine how many I can use on one quilt. For example, I have 12 total green squares, so I can use 6 on this quilt so I have enough for another quilt. Then I start with one fabric at a time and lay them out so they are spaced nicely. Then I add the next color and so on until all my squares are placed where I want them.

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ow that you’ve placed the squares where you want them, you are going to glue them down so they don’t move. You don’t need a ton of glue, just enough to hold them in place while you sew it. And don’t worry, the glue will wash away when you wash the quilt.

 Once you’ve glued all the squares down you are going to sew them.  I sew with a ¼” seam allowance, so I put the needle in the far right position and use the edge of my foot as a guide. Start about ¼” above the first square and make sure to backstitch, then just sew straight down until about ¼” past the last square in the row and backstitch again. I start from one side and sew all the right edges of the squares down, and then I flip the quilt around so that the edges I just sewed are on now on the left and I sew the right side down again. I continue this until all 4 sides of the quilt are done.

Now that all the rows are sewn you need to clip your threads on the top and the bottom of the quilt.

  Trim the sides of the quilt so that the back fabric is 1” wider than the front fabric on all four sides. You are going to use this to make fold over binding.

Step 12

Step 13: How to  Bind a Quilt

1. Do one side of the quilt at a time. Fold the back fabric in half, so the raw edge of the back fabric is against the raw edge of the top of the quilt. (Or, since you cut it 1” bigger than the top, you are folding it ½”).
2. Fold the back fabric ½” again. So the back fabric now comes over the top fabric ½”.
3. Turn the quilt counter-clockwise and do the same thing to that edge, but like how the picture shows, when you get to the corner where the sides meet that you already folded, open it up.
4. Now, open the second side you ironed and close the first side you ironed.
5. Fold the corner down so that it is against the raw edge of the top fabric.
6. Fold the raw edge of the back fabric to meet the raw edge of the top fabric.
7. Fold it again. Now all your raw edges are hidden and you have a nice mitered corner.
8. Pin or clip it in place.
9. Once you’ve done this all the way around you are ready to sew it. I like to use my blind-hem foot because it has a little guide on it, but this is by no means necessary. I’m not sure the seam allowance I use for the binding, just make sure you are in far enough to catch the binding.
You did it! Almost done.