The Patchwork Quilt

RATED: 3 for Difficulty

Ok - I apologize for the seriously long away.  We had a very exciting month of Oct. and it prevented me from much work on the dollhouse, let alone writing about it.  But we are finally back to it (with only 7 full weeks left until Christmas, ahhhhh!) So you can expect a lot of stuff coming out here in the next two months. :)  (I also apologize for the lack of photos on this particular blog - I created the quilt and pillows before I decided to do the Dollighted! blog.)

One of the very first pieces I did was a patchwork quilt.  Now I will be the first one to admit I am not a quilter.  I don't know how the "experts" do it or what the official method is, but the one I used worked pretty good I thought, and turned out well.

I started by cutting 1 inch by 1 inch squares. The more accurate you are in your squares the easier this will go, so take your time.  I used a piece of the stiff fabric to make a pattern and simply cut them out.

Then I arranged my pattern.  My grid is 4x6, with a one inch border, but I recommend if you're using 1 inch squares to do at least a 5x7 with a 1 inch border for adult Barbies.  This one is intended for the "sweetheart kids" room and only hits Barbie at the bust.

Once I had them laid out I stitched them together into columns, one square at a time with my sewing machine.  I started in the upper left hand corner and sewed the square right below it on, then the square right below that.  When I had 1 column done I did the second column, then the third, and fourth.  I stitched them all together after, going slow and steady.  When I was finished with that measured out 2 columns (for the sides) and 2 rows (for the top and bottom.  I stitched them directly to the squares, and then stitched diagonally to each corner.  I sewed on a back being sure to flip it inside out and then stuffed it and hand sewed it shut.  It is "tied" with embroidery floss to keep the stuffing in place.

The heart-shaped pillows I sewed front faces out so that I could have the little "fringe" edges. The rectangle I simply reversed and hand stitched on one side.  The cylinder was a rectangle of fabric rolled up with two circles hand stitched on the ends.  It took me about two hours from start to finish for the whole bedspread, and looks like I spent days.