Monday, December 31, 2018

Teddy Bear Trials

The Teddy Bear quilt turned out great, but it had a hard time getting there.  I started with research on the Internet because the pattern directions were so lame, so I planned two layers of fleece with one layer of flannel in between.  I had fun fussy cutting the fleece to include some animals.  I got all three layers cut.  Then each piece was quilted as needed before stitching together.  The animals were outline stitched.

Then....time to stitch it all together.  Four layers of fleece and two layers of flannel wouldn't even go under the presser foot!!   Sad lesson learned.  Back to the Internet for more research.  Back to the fabric store for more flannel.  Finally rip out the quilting to get rid of the back layer of fleece.  I trimmed around the quilted animals, leaving the back layer of fleece under them for a trapunto effect.

Pre-wash all flannel, which I had forgotten to do before.  That would have been a disaster because flannel is a dependable shrinker.

Then...cut all the pieces out of both lengths of flannel.  Now I had a sandwich of two layers of flannel and one layer of fleece.  Quilt the pieces as needed.  Success.  It went together well and quickly.  Even cutting the rag edges went quickly.  After washing and throwing it in the dryer it looked so cute.  I was happy.

Next time it will take me half the time to make the same pattern.  It is soft, textured and colorful on the front (fleece), but soft and quiet on the back (flannel).

Teddy Bear quilt, my grandson and his lovely wife.

I wish you a Safe and  Happy New Year.  I'll chat with you in 2019!

10 comments:

  1. Your teddy bear is adorable!! Have a blessed new year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How fun is that teddy bear-nice work. Sorry it was being such a pain for a while though, but you persevered and won!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So cute! I have seen these animal quilts before and thought they were so cute! Glad you figured out the pattern!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cute idea! I'm sure baby will love to snuggle with that quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lessons learned and a cute quilt too boot equals Success :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you all for your comments. It was a fun quilt once I got on track. I will happily make another one someday.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a precious baby quilt Mardi! I'm so glad you kept at it and figured out how to finish it, I am sure your grandson and his wife love it! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Precious bear quilt. Would love to make one now that I've seen yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was fun and easy once I overcame my initial glitch. If you use fleece, use only one fleece layer or it gets too thick.

      Delete

Bagged the Bag

My first attempt at a picnic bag was a fail.  You saw the pictures last week.  I kept revising the design.  I clipped where I shouldn't ...