Project

Baby Quilt with Knots

Whether you're taking baby steps into quilting or looking for an impactful project, give in to our mini blanket's charms. (This little peanut, named Harlow, certainly helps!)

Photography: Lennart Weibull

Source: Martha Stewart Living, May 2018

Introduction

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.

materials

Fabric (Pictured: Kiyohara Kokochi double gauze fabric, in Dots Silver Grey, $21 per yard, purlsoho.com)

Batting (Pictured: Quilter's Dream cotton batting, in Crib Size, Supreme Weight, $13, purlsoho.com)

Sewing machine and supplies

Iron and ironing board

Quilting safety pins

Embroidery floss (Pictured: DMC embroidery floss, in 3779 Ultra VY LT Terra Cotta, 3821 Straw, and 721 MD Orange Spice, 52¢ each, michaels.com)

Fabric scissors

Hand sewing needle

Tailor's chalk

steps

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.