Any Special Considerations for a Baby Quilt?

Hi! I am very excited to report that I will need to make my first official baby quilt! NO! Not me! My niece is having a baby and would like a quilt so I said I would do it. I'm feeling a lot of pressure! Other than making sure there are no pins left in it, buttons, or other chokables attached, is there anything else I need to keep in mind for this special quilt? Should I make a flannel rag quilt or is regular cotton a better choice? I haven't picked a pattern yet but open to any tried-and-true suggestions! Thanks!

I like light weight cotton for baby quilts. But then I live in a warm area so everything has to be light weight. When I make baby quilts I try to keep to what the national safety standards are eg. Cotton, lightweight, fire resistant etc.

I would also use a low fluff batting. Since it is for a family member you probably know if there are a lot of allergies that run in the family. So consider allergies before choosing the batting. But I would go with 100% cotton for the front and back. Doesn't a rag quilt leave the "fringy" edging around the squares. What about any threads that might come loose? Just thinking.

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Originally Posted by CrazyMtnLady

I would also use a low fluff batting. Since it is for a family member you probably know if there are a lot of allergies that run in the family. So consider allergies before choosing the batting. But I would go with 100% cotton for the front and back. Doesn't a rag quilt leave the "fringy" edging around the squares. What about any threads that might come loose? Just thinking.

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Great point! Ok...no rag quilt!

the only thing that I would recommend is not to use invisible thread---to scarry if it gets wrapped around a finger, they may lose it. I would use cotton thread only.

I made a flannel baby quilt that turned out so nice.

Good luck I bet your niece will love whatever you decide to make!

How exciting for you! You're going to be a GREAT AUNT!!! And you get to make your first baby quilt.

I have just made a couple of snuggle rugs for my DGD's that would easily pass for lightweight baby quilts. They are 100% cotton tops and a flannel backing. (I have pics in my albums)
For a warmer quilt I would add a low fluff cotton batting as Donna suggested.

Good luck and don't forget to share pics :)

Is the baby coming this summer or winter? If summer I suggest cotton broadcloth. If winter go with flannel. I'm just starting a scrappy "Hugs and Kisses" quilt as per Jenny's tut. To make a baby quilt it should go pretty fast using those charms. I'm making a tablerunner with mine so I cut my squares 3.5" since I need smaller blocks. I'm using stash and want mine scrappy. I made one block to see how it would look. Super cute! They are so easy to make and lots of fun selecting the fabrics for each block. The busier the fabric the more interesting the blocks look when you sew four of them together.

Thanks for all the advice! Yes, Sharon...I will be old Great Auntie Angie...the crazy one who makes the quilts! lol!

Congrats! I will be an great aunt in July to a little boy so I made a cotton baby quilt and a larger flannel quilt for the winter...I didn't know it was going to be a boy, so both quilts are brown and green...I just made sure everything would wash nicely and that everything was stitched securely...no buttons or threads to get caught on anything...and I did machine stitch on the bindings using zig zag...

You are going to have so much fun! Can't wait to see what you make!

Congratulations! I love making baby quilts. After making lots of pastels, a mom pointed me toward an article that said bright colors are good for babies' cognitive development. So now there's the challenge of using brights in a pattern that still looks appropriate for a little one.

--Heidi
http://community.webshots.com/user/rabbit2b

Congratulations! I'm in the process of making a baby quilt for my new granddaughter. I'm using 100% cotton fabric in the D9P. My backing is flannel, so it will be soft; and 100% cotton batting (no polyester).
ALL of this I learned from Jenny's tutorials AND the wonderful women (& men) on this site!!!

My suggestions are bright colors in primary colors; all cotton for everything...will hold up much better and machine sew the binding...I also use the zigzag stitch to sew it down..safer for the little ones and I bury all my threads...hope this helps