Early Bird Baby Quilt Tutorial

Today I am sharing a quick quilt that you can use for either a baby quilt or wall hanging.  The applique uses the heatnbond lite and features a little bird.  It’s sweet and fresh and reminds me of cool nights and a little breeze.

finished size: 37″ x 37″ 

Everyone loves a little blankie to snuggle their babies in.  The size isn’t huge, so it fits small ones just right….or you can lay it on the floor for some fun belly time.  Right now though I don’t have any little wee ones in the home so this quilt is hanging on the wall.  It’s the perfect size for that too!

The center of the patchwork quilt blocks features a little bird.  It’s from another pattern– we love to reuse our templates around here!  If you’d like though you can switch it up with another applique.  Think of something around 6″ square and you should be fine.

Purchase the pdf pattern here: Early Bird Quilt Pattern

Materials Needed:

Heatnbond® Lite Fusible

bird template

fat quarters of 5-6 different fabrics for the patchwork

1 fat quarter for the center blocks (behind the applique)

white fabric sashing- 1/4 yard

first border- 1/8 yard

second border- 1/4 yard

Early Bird Baby Quilt Tutorial

1)  Cut fat quarter pieces into 2 1/2″ X  14″ you will need a total of 16 strips

2)  Sew 4 — 2 1/2″ strips together

3)  Cut into 3 1/2″ sections– you will need a total of 16 (4 per quilt block)

4)  Cut 8– 4″ X 4″ background squares and 8– 4″ X 4″ out of the fat quarter fabrics

5)  Lay right sides together the 4″ X 4″ squares- one background, one color

6)  Draw a line down the center from corner to corner- sew 1/4″ seam on either side of the line

7)  Cut on the drawn line and square up the half square triangles to measure 3 1/2″ X 3 1/2″

8)  Cut 4— 8 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ out of the fat quarter for the center block

9)  Cut 4– 3 1/2″ X 3 1/2″ squares out of the fat quarter fabrics– draw a line from corner to corner on the wrong side of fabric

10)  Lay one 3 1/2″ square in the corner of the 8 1/2″ square

11)  Sew on the drawn line– if you’d like to you can sew 1 /2″ from the sewn line for an extra free half square triangle to use on another project

12)  Trim on the drawn line and iron open

13)  Sew one 3 1/2″ section to opposite sides of the center square

14)  Sew one half square triangle to either end of a 3 1/2″ section

15)  Sew to opposite sides of the center square

16)  Cut 2– 2″ X 14 1/2″ strips for sashing

17)  Sew the sashing strips to one side of the block- repeat with a second block

18)  Sew another block to the side of the sashing strip

19)  Cut 1– 2″ X 31 1/2″ strip for sashing

20)  Sew the sashing to the top of one block section

21)  Trace the bird applique template on the Heatnbond® Lite Fusible.  Follow the instructions and fuse to your fabric. Cut out shapes and fuse to the center of the quilt blocks.

22)  Stitch around the outside of the applique with a button hole or a zig zag stitch

23)  Cut the first border strips 2– 1 1/2″ X 31 1/2″ and 2– 1 1/2″ X 32″

24)  Sew the first border strips to the sides of the quilt center

25)  Cut the second border strips 2– 3″ X 32″ and 2– 3″ X 37″

26)  Sew the second border strips to the sides of the quilt center

27)  Layer your quilt top, batting and backing. Quilt as desired.

Purchase the pdf pattern here: Early Bird Quilt Pattern

Additional resources:

How to applique

Machine quilting

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