Quilt Specifications

If you are not an experienced quilter, you might feel intimidated by the thought of creating a class quilt.  Actually, this project requires only basic sewing skills and some supplies, including:
 

Here is some advice that will result in a successful class quilt:
  1. Use only 100% cotton woven (not knit) fabrics.
  2. Make sure that all fabrics have been washed and dried (preshrunk) before using them in the quilt.  This will prevent the quilt from shrinking the first time it is washed.
  3. If you want the quilt to have a coordinated look, consider giving some guidelines about fabric choices:  ranges of color, solid vs. print fabrics, etc.
  4. Small prints or solid colors work best in quilting; large prints will be lost when the fabric is cut into border strips.  If you like large prints, consider using them for the back of the quilt.
  5. Use a rotary cutter and quilting ruler to cut the fabrics precisely.
  6. Sew all seams exactly 1/4 inch.  This will ensure that all the blocks fit together neatly.
  7. Pressing is critical in quilting.  Take the time to press each seam thoroughly before moving on to the next step.  Use a steam iron on the cotton setting to press.
  8. Use the lightest weight of batting you can find.
  9. Use crochet cotton or embroidery floss to tie the quilt, and place the ties no more than 4" apart so that the layers will be bound together.
You can make your class quilt any size you like.  It can be a wall hanging or a bed quilt, depending on the number and size of blocks you use.  The teacher I worked with, Mrs. Santos, wanted to be able to wrap up in her students' stories, so we made the class quilt roughly a twin size (72" by 64").  There were 23 students, one teacher, and one student teacher, so we used 25 blocks arranged in 5 rows of 5 blocks.  The directions given here reflect the quilt we made, but you can change the measurements to suit your situation.
 

To prepare the coloring blocks:
 

  1. Use a high-quality bleached or unbleached muslin that has been preshrunk.
  2. Cut the muslin into blocks that are exactly 8-1/2" square.
  3. To stabilize the muslin for coloring, iron 8" squares of freezer paper (waxy side down on the fabric) to the muslin squares.  This will peel off easily after the children have colored their blocks.
  4. Use special fabric crayons to color the blocks; regular crayons will wash out of the fabric.
  5. Use a warm dry iron to heat-set the children's designs on the fabric.
To prepare the border strips:
 
  1. Use 100% cotton woven fabric to cut four border strips for each block as follows:  2 8-1/2" strips and 2 12-1/2" strips.
  2. Sew the 8-1/2" strips to each side of the block, and press the seams flat.
  3. Sew the 12-1/2" strips to the top and bottom of the block, and press the seams flat.
To assemble the quilt:
 
  1. Arrange the blocks in a way that is pleasing to your eye.  (If you cannot evenly divide the number of blocks into rows, consider adding blocks that contain class pictures, signatures, and/or a label that gives the date and place the quilt was made.)
  2. Beginning with the top row, sew the blocks together with precise 1/4" seams and press the seams flat.
  3. Next sew the rows together and press the seams flat.
  4. If you wish, you can add border strips to the quilt top, using the same procedure you used to sew border strips to the individual blocks.
  5. Lay out your backing fabric (you might have to sew two pieces of fabric together to get the width you need) right side down on a flat surface.  Smooth out all wrinkles.
  6. Lay the batting on top of the backing fabric, and smooth it out.
  7. Lay the quilt top right side up on top of the batting, and smooth it out.
  8. Using safety pins, pin all three layers together every 4 to 6 inches.
  9. Sew a basting seam 1/4" from the edge of the quilt top, and trim away excess batting and backing fabric.
To bind the quilt:
 
  1. Cut 4" strips of binding fabric (dark colors usually work best).  You will need enough to go around all four sides of your quilt, so it might be necessary to sew strips together to get pieces that are long enough for each side, depending on the size of your quilt.
  2. Fold the strips in half lengthwise so that they are 2" wide, and press them flat.
  3. Pin a strip to each side of the right side of the quilt top, and sew it on with a 1/4" seam.  Then press the seams flat.
  4. Pin a strip to the top and bottom of the quilt, running the strip out to the edges of the side binding strips.  Sew with a 1/4" seam, and press the seams flat.
  5. Fold the binding strips to the back of the quilt, and press them down flat so that the binding wraps around and covers the raw edges of the quilt.  Hand sew the binding to the back of the quilt.
To tie the quilt:
 
  1. Lay the bound quilt on a flat surface such as a table.
  2. Using a large-eye needle, thread a double strand of crochet cotton or embroidery floss through the needle.
  3. Making sure to pierce all three layers of the quilt, take a stitch and leave about 2" of thread.
  4. Tie a square knot with the thread ends and trim to about 1/2".
  5. For a secure quilt, place the ties no farther apart than 4" or so.
Be sure to take photos as you work on the quilt.  In this way, you can record the story of your class quilt as it evolves.
 

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