Tutorial: Charley Harper Baby Quilt {by Beth of Plum and June}

Let's welcome back Beth, of Plum and June, with another great quilting tutorial!  This time she's whipped up a baby quilt with our Charley Harper prints!  (Coming to a shop near you this October!)

This quilt is a great way to show off these adorable prints. What a lovely gift this would make for a little boy or girl.  I most definitely would take one for myself too. :)

Now without further adieu, take it away Beth!

Immediately upon seeing the new Charley Harper fabric line, I knew that I wanted to make a baby quilt that highlighted each and every adorable little animal.  I'm not sure if I got every single one in this quilt, especially since I wanted to include a few of the beautiful blender prints, but I think I got close!

This quilt is basically comprised of 3 large rectangle shaped rows/blocks and a border put together in a semi improv style.  When working with fabrics that are so perfect for fussy cutting, I like using improv techniques so that I have the flexibility to decide the finished size of each fussy cut.   And since this Charley Harper line includes so many great blender prints, you can easily adjust the size of your finished block/row by cutting the blender prints in a size to accommodate the size of the fussy cut. 

To make a baby quilt that finishes at 36" x 44", you'll need to gather your scraps or small pieces of fabrics and about 1 1/2 yards of background fabric (I used mod basics solid in cream.)

In this tutorial, the goal is to have the rows with the print fabrics finish at 9" x 27".  Begin by fussy cutting pieces from the animal prints in a size that looks good to you for the specific print - just make sure that none of the pieces are taller than 9".  On your design wall (or floor or desk), begin trying different layouts adding in cuts from the blender prints until you have three rows that measure 29.5" across if you have 6 prints in the row or 29" if you have 5 prints in the row. 

Working one row at a time, take your first print and add a piece of background fabric to the top, bottom, or both so that it measures 9.5" (if you just add one piece of background of fabric) or 10" (if you add two.)

Now take the next print fabric from that row and repeat the process of adding in the background fabric.

Sew those pieces together and repeat with the third print in the row.

Continue until you have completed the first row.  And then repeat for rows 2 and 3.  Here is an idea of some measurements that would work:

Once you have completed the three rows, cut the following from your background fabric for sashing and border strips: (2) 5x27, (2) 5x35, and (2) 5x36.  And sew them to the rows as shown in the diagrams below. 1.  Add the sashing between the rows.

2.  Add the border strips to the sides.

3.  Add the final border strips to the top and bottom.

4.  Use your favorite method for quilting and binding and you are done!