In addition to being very sweet, the tassel-like ties hold the quilt together in lieu of stitches—in fact, they're called "quilt knots." And if there’s no newborn in your circle, the finished product also makes a nice lap warmer on cool nights.
Cut fabric and batting to desired size (quilt shown measures 40 inches square). Lay back piece right-side up. Place front piece on top, wrong-side up. Top with batting, and pin all three layers together at edges. Machine-sew around sides with a 3/4-inch seam allowance, leaving an 8-inch gap in middle of top side.
Snip off corners and turn fabric right-side out through gap. Poke out corners so they're pointy, then hand-stitch gap closed. Press with iron, lay flat, and secure layers with quilting safety pins every 5 to 7 inches.
Measure and mark where to tack quilt together by placing ties, no more than 7 inches apart; check batting packaging for instructions. (On this fabric, we placed a bow on every tenth dot.)
Thread needle with three strands of embroidery floss. Insert, pull through, and then bring back up 1/8 inch from insertion point. Tie a square knot—cross left strand over right and pull tight, then cross right strand over left and pull tight again. Snip ties to desired length, and fluff. Remove pins.
Comments