One of my favorite things to do is sew dolls. Sometimes I find that the simpler the better when it comes to first dolls too. This one is one of those.
The swaddle baby doesn’t come out of the blankie, but it can be wrapped up tight over and over again. Keeping baby warm is part of learning how to be a good mom.
For this project I used quilt blocks. Feel free to use regular pieces of fabric. I found that I liked the quilt blocks with a large amount of background color. The busy quilt blocks tended to drown out the baby inside. I did not use batting either. You can test or audition your quilt block and if you feel like you would like more weight to it, then by all means add it!
I am totally aware that this is a super basic swaddle baby. Nothing special, but it gets the job done for snuggles…and for babies who love babies.
Materials needed:
5 quilt blocks 8″ each OR a 15″ X 15″ fabric and 1- 8″ X 8″ piece
Little fleece or felt scrap for the face
polyfil stuffing
Swaddle Baby Instructions:
1) Sew 4 quilt blocks into a square
2) Fold in half to make a triangle- right sides together
3) Sew around the 3 sides, leaving a 2 1/2″ opening for turning
4) Turn right sides out , iron and sew the opening closed with a ladder stitch
5) Cut a circle for the face using the fleece or felt
6) Sew the face to the top of the single quilt block- 1″ from the top
7) Fold all 4 sides of the single quilt block under 1/2″ and iron
8) Pin the body with the head at the top on the triangle
9) Sew around the sides, leaving the bottom open for stuffing
10) Stuff the body
11) Sew along the bottom edge to close
12) Stitch eyes and mouth with needle and thread
To wrap your baby- fold over the corners or points, one of top of each other. Snuggle away!
Because we are around Christmas time, I thought it would be good to mention that you can sew one up to display as Jesus, or to use in a manger scene. My kiddos are a bit big for that now, but it doesn’t mean that the baby can’t hang out in some tinsel….and remind us of the meaning of Christmas.
This is part of the 52 UFO Quilt Block Pick Up seriesneed more ideas on what to do with your UFO Quilt Blocks? previous weeks and UFO Quilt Block ideas
If you are sewing along with us and making up something with your UFO Quilt Blocks {even if you find your own way of sewing them together} we would all love a little peeksee!
Post them in the UFO Quilt Block Photo Gallery.
Becky Jorgensen is the creative quilter behind Patchwork Posse, the Patchwork Planner and her online quilt group Patchworkers Plus. You can find her patterns in books, magazines, and her quilt membership. Gather your quilting supplies, organize your sewing space, explore the process of disappearing quilt blocks, or finish a free quilt pattern. I'll help you use what you have, finish what you start and make your quilting journey fun!
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Caroline says
This is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Sarah says
This is adorable. What a great idea!
Becky says
Thanks sarah and caroline. Babies are always cute!