Baby quilt - to back with microfiber blanket, or not?

[eileenkny]

I'm working on a baby quilt -- it's pieced triangles; each triangle is cut size 4.5" tall by a 3.5" base, joined in pairs, then the pairs joined and so on until they make long strips, then the strips joined.

I was planning to back with regular quilters cotton, the same fabric as I'm using for the bulk of the front. Then I saw a baby blanket made of that soft, plush microfiber and thought it would sure be sweet and soft for baby.

Started researching; closest I can find on-line is in articles referencing "minky" fabric; this may or may not be similar, but I guess close enough. Here come my questions, then ---

it is a 100% polyester blanket, so the suggestion is to pre-wash the cottons before making the quilt sandwich & quilting. Problem: I already cut and started piecing the cotton. Is it too late to pre-wash? How would I go about that in the best way??

Wash the pieces? Assemble the top and wash it before attaching to the back? Or, assemble and quilt as normal then wash and deal with whatever funky shrinkage issues I get from having front cotton and back poly?

Is this a big enough hurdle that I should scrap the plan all together and just stick with regular cotton backing?

If not, my other question is if I go with the blanket as backing, can I skip batting all together? Do I need a middle layer of something anyway?

And, lastly, if I can go with the blanket, then do I bind it all as a regular quilt? Or how would one finish off a quilt like this?

This is a gift for my sister-in-law, and I want her to love it, so if there are issues with the microfiber, please say so! I do have the fabric for backing that I planned to use originally, and have no problem giving up the idea of using the blanket as backing if you all say it's not going to work at this point.

Thanks for any tips! I'm juggling three projects right now and wanted to ask this before I forget and get sidetracked!

[Reetzbobeetz]

Hi Heather, I am no expert and opinions do differ but I personally would not use anything other than cotton or wool in or on a baby blanket. The problem with polyester is that it melts in high heat. I would stick with cotton top, wadding and backing but I am sure there are others with alternative opinions.

[Reetzbobeetz]

Here is an alternative opinion.

Agreed that polyester does melt at high heat, but if it is high enough to melt the fabric you would not have the baby anywhere nearby. The type of cloth (I think) you are refering to I call fleece fabric. The advantages with this fabric is that it is very easy to wash and dry quickly and it does not shrink or need ironing This is good where babies are involved :wink: I actually made a couple of baby sleeping bags for my daughter out of a double layer of fleece when she was a toddler (that way they can't roll out and get uncovered and wake up mum & dad hollaring because they are cold!) I do know that a number of other members have made baby quilts using minky/fleece happily - but off the top of my head I cannot remember who.

You mention that you haven't prewashed the cotton - have you checked for colour fastness? ie will any of the blighters bleed colour on the first wash? If they are all soft colours you are probably ok.

I would probably finish up making the top first. Then you have the choice of washing it to pre- shrink or you could just carry on and make it up and then when it does have it's first wash it will get the soft & puckery look, that happens and some people like especially for quilts that are meant to be loved & used hard, as opposed to show quilts.

No I don't think that you will need batting as well as fleece, unless it is destined for a particularly cold area.

Finishing - you could bind or you could just fold under the seam allowance of the cotton and stitch it down flat to the fleece. Fleece does not fray, if the blanket you are using is larger you could cut a fringe into the fleece if you wanted to.

My technique for just preshrinking fabric that is still in yardage (but will work fine for cuts) is lay it in the bottom of the bath tub with as few folds as possible, with the plug in. Boil the kettle and pour over, add a second kettleful of boiling water and rub over with a spatula or fish slice to make sure the fabric is completely soaked, adding hot tap water to make sure that it is fully immersed. Leave it for an hour or 2 to cool down/get side-tracked with something else. Drain the water out, squeeze out as much water without screwing/twisting the fabric up and get it outside to peg on the line as flat as possible, use lots of pegs about every 6-8" This method avoids getting lots of creases in the fabric that then have to be got out with ironing. If it is small pieces lay them flat & square on a towel to dry. It doesn't necessarily need lots of agitation or soap to shrink, just hot water, in my experience.

[loise98]

I would do as Rosemary suggested. I guess this means the sewing machine is working fine. How did that get sorted out, or did I miss something? Lois

[anne1]

Minky is different from fleece, much softer.
I made a cushion cover for my daughter ( grown up ) and found it quite difficult to sew.
Anything too fluffy would "in my opinion" be wrong for a baby and I would stick to cotton or wool as these are natural fabrics.
Fleece is lovely but I think it might be too hot for a baby as when they are young they aren't able to regulate their temperature.
I would err on the side of natural products.
Hope this helps
Anne

[loise98]

Heather, I think we are probably managing to thoroughly confuse you. You'll have to follow the advice that seems right for you. Did you see the Brazilian flags flying during Ricky's video of the parade of quilts in Paducah. Good luck with the baby quilt. Lois

[Reetzbobeetz]

FYI Heather here's a link to a previous discussion on the forum:

http://forum/your-tips-and-discoveri...cals-on-quilts

Actually, I am not sure that was the link I was looking for. Some time back there was an article on different battings and how they fared in the event of a fire but I can't find the link. Anybody...?

[bhalbard]

I have made at least 6 baby quilts with cotton pieced tops and fleece backing. I did not put any batting in them, because, in southeast Texas the fleece is plenty!! The quilts held up well and everybody loved them. I had prewashed my cottons, so there was no shrinking. I did a regular binding just as you would with a 3 layer quilt. I machine quilted them with my DSM and had no problems with the fleece catching or not moving through smoothly. Have fun, I'm sure the baby will love it!

[bhalbard]

I would do as Rosemary suggested. I guess this means the sewing machine is working fine. How did that get sorted out, or did I miss something? Lois

Lois, you haven't missed anything. The machine is at the machine doctor right now, still not sorted but I'll call today and hopefully they'll have it fixed & ready for pick-up this weekend. We shall see!

Meanwhile, I just keep working by hand. Slower going, but I have plenty of time to get these quilts done (I'm working on 3 different things right now....) so no worries. Luckily I enjoy the hand work. 'Tis far better to quilt/piece by hand than not to quilt/piece at all!!

[bhalbard]

Minky is different from fleece, much softer.
I made a cushion cover for my daughter ( grown up ) and found it quite difficult to sew.
Anything too fluffy would "in my opinion" be wrong for a baby and I would stick to cotton or wool as these are natural fabrics.
Fleece is lovely but I think it might be too hot for a baby as when they are young they aren't able to regulate their temperature.
I would err on the side of natural products.
Hope this helps
Anne

yes, it's definitely not fleece, the stuff I was thinking of. I don't know the official name of it, and I've not seen minky fabric in person so can't say if this is like that or not. But it's a micro-fleece fabric in a very plush format. Soft, fuzzy, warm, and luxurious feeling next to the skin.

But, you raise some good points --- we don't want too warm (and baby-to-be lives in SE Texas & would get the quilt in August most likely), and perhaps the fuzzy which might get in babies mouth would be a bad idea as well.

I think for this one I will stick with the cotton. Maybe I will try the minky stuff later on....

[bhalbard]

Heather, I think we are probably managing to thoroughly confuse you. You'll have to follow the advice that seems right for you. Did you see the Brazilian flags flying during Ricky's video of the parade of quilts in Paducah. Good luck with the baby quilt. Lois

LOL, not confused, just shows that sometimes there is more than one answer

I didn't see the video so missed the flags; how fun that would have been!

I'll post pics of the baby quilt as I get it nearer completion; it's sort of my own design and I'm quite proud of it. It's triangles, nothing fancy there, but done in a layout that gives the allusion of argyle across the top third. Large, oversized argyle, that is. I actually drew the design when Alex was having the baby quilt contest, but the recipient didn't know yet if she was having a girl or a boy and I couldn't bring myself to spend the $$$ on fabric for a quilt just for the contest, so only making it now.

Anyway, yes, it's fun to work on! I'll post pics when it's made enough progress that you can see the design....

[tigsowner]

Here in the UK, we are told that babies shouldn't have QUILTS until they are at least one year old so that rules out wadding (batting). One layer of fleece or minky is fine with a cotton top and makes a very snuggly blanket. Easy to bind or use the envelope method. Much easier to wash and dry too....A traditional 3 layer quilt can be used as a playmat until the baby is old enough to throw the covers off himself when he gets too hot.
My daughter has a quilt I made for her when she was a year old and received yet another fleece blanket for xmas. In fact, it's one of the first patchwork items I ever made. I simply slip stitched it to the border of the blanket then tied it with some pretty fabric roses. As she used it with her buggy, it got washed at least twice a week for 3 years and still has hard use with her toys another 4 years on. When she tires of toys, I'll pack it away with some other precious memories for her future.

[she-quilts]

I'll post pics of the baby quilt as I get it nearer completion; it's sort of my own design and I'm quite proud of it. It's triangles, nothing fancy there, but done in a layout that gives the allusion of argyle across the top third. Large, oversized argyle, that is.

:?: :?: :?: Nothing fancy? :shock:

To all... she is seriously yanking your chain here. Did you do triangles only for your 2nd pieced quilt?? All by hand and all w/o in real life help. It is fancy. (Ok, there was a small wallhanging in there too.... and other quilts are in process... but she designs her own.) We must keep an eye on this one....... :wink:

[theothermarion]

Tigsowner: Why on earth would people recommend not giving babies quilts until they are 1 year old?

I put flannel on the back of my baby quilts. It is instantly warm! I did pre-shrink the flannel twice and the regular cotton once. (in the washing machine).

And I thought Minky was made for babies...

[theothermarion]

Here in the UK, we are told that babies shouldn't have QUILTS until they are at least one year old so that rules out wadding (batting). One layer of fleece or minky is fine with a cotton top and makes a very snuggly blanket. Easy to bind or use the envelope method. Much easier to wash and dry too....A traditional 3 layer quilt can be used as a playmat until the baby is old enough to throw the covers off himself when he gets too hot.
My daughter has a quilt I made for her when she was a year old and received yet another fleece blanket for xmas. In fact, it's one of the first patchwork items I ever made. I simply slip stitched it to the border of the blanket then tied it with some pretty fabric roses. As she used it with her buggy, it got washed at least twice a week for 3 years and still has hard use with her toys another 4 years on. When she tires of toys, I'll pack it away with some other precious memories for her future.

How interesting!

I am intentionally making it just a bit larger than crib sized anyway so that it lasts longer (ie, baby doesn't outgrow it) and will suggest that it's designed/intended use is as a play mat on the floor. I so hope she uses it!