Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands: Free Babies and Childrens Quilt and Sewing Tutorials, Patterns, and Links: Updated 2019

In honor of Project Linus Day, Feb 21, but in honor of all children, and all charitable projects for children... any and all days of the year: Make a blanket or quilt for a child and donate it to Project Linus.

To find a Project Linus Chapter near you, check out http://www.projectlinus.org/

If there is not a Project Linus in your area, consider starting a group. And of course, donate to any local hospital, or baby care project and mention your support of Project Linus and all of us who sew for babies and children, everywhere!

To find other charitable giving organizations for children, check out Quilts for Kids and Downy's Quilts for Kids Comfort programs ,AZ Blankets for Kids ,Wrap Them in Love,Sunshine Quilts , Margaret's Hope Chest, Binky Patrol and so many others. Any local hospital that serves children with special medical needs will almost have quilt donation programs.

And for that, I have just added to my huge list of Free Quilt Patterns by creating a category of free patterns perfect for children. It also includes some doll quilts and patterns to be used for American Girl Dolls just for fun. This post is specifically for babies and children and includes a multitude of links for preemies and precious angel babies who leave us far too soon.

My Harmonic Convergence Quilt: Making it and Directions for Making it

And

Harmonic Convergence Fabric Calculator

I do my best to donate 25 quilts a year to charitable causes and most of those go to babies and children..the hearts of my own heart. And when I have a grandbaby of my own, of course I had to sew for her, for my children's friends children, and most of the time for babies and children that I don't know and probably will never meet. It does my heart such good to create and to share and I know it will yours, as well!

No-Sew Fleece Blanket (optional pillow)

Directions for making and cutting fringe for a simple fleece blanket:

Crafting Time:1-2 Hours

Skill Level:No Experience Necessary

(For a Simple Print Project Description click here: courtesy of Joann Fabrics Download Project PDF)

*Tip: if your fringe rounds and pulls at corners you are cutting the fringe too shallow.

*For a baby blanket fringe should be cut 4" -5" deep and 1" apart.

*For a teen/adult blanket cut it 6" deep - 7" deep and 1" apart.

This makes a much smaller blanket when finished but looks so much better. And 7" deep fringe creates a really elegant look! Makes a great gift for any age!!

BLANKET SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

Sizing for baby blanket: 36"x 36" / 45"x 45"

Sizing for teen/adult blanket: width of fabric by 72" (buy 2 yards each/4 yds total)

Fleece: 2 yds each, print & solid

Scissors or rotary cutter and mat ( I prefer scissor cutting for this)

Tape measure

DIRECTIONS: Cut both layers of fleece at the same time.

1. Remove flat selvage edge if desired on both pieces.
2. Lay fleece wrong sides together. Cut a 4"-6" square from each corner of the fleece. (I make a cardboard square template of required size and use it over and over again for ease of cutting)

2. FRINGE: Cut 4" - 7" deep (depending on finished blanket size) into fleece at 1" intervals around all sides of top & bottom layers. Knot fringes together around blanket, using 1 strand from the front and 1 strand from the back. Double knot, but do not tie too tightly or it will bunch and be less attractive.

PILLOW SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

Fleece: 3/4 yd each, print & solid

16" square pillow form

Rotary cutter & mat

Tape measure

DIRECTIONS: Cut both layers of fleece at the same time.

1. Cut 26"x26" from each piece of fleece. Lay fleece wrong sides together. Cut a 5" square from each corner.

2. FRINGE: Cut 5" into fleece at 1" intervals around all sides of top & bottom layers. Knot fringe pieces together around 3 sides, using 1 strand from the front and 1 strand from the back.

3. Insert pillow form. Finish tying pillow closed.

Make a Fleece Baby Play Pad..use alone or under a little play gym for floor play with baby!

Fabric and Supplies:

Fleece...my play mat ended up being 36" x 36" for a specific use area..but make yours as big as you like!

You'll need a piece of fleece for both front and back. I used two different co-coordinating pieces.

Plus a extra thick piece of batting..I used upholstery batt, but you could use multiple pieces of high loft poly depending on how thick you want it!

Stitch a seam all around , right sides together, keeping an eye on your design if its linear or has a pattern you want to maintain as mine did with this block lines of 'stitching'.

Be sure to leave a 6" space (unstitche) so you can go in and pull it back out right sides out again!

Then I inserted my thick batt...my own preference rather than including it in the stitching since mine was extra extra high loft from mulitple layers..I used one piece of upholstery batting sandwiched in between two pieces of regular, thinner poly batting.

Ta Da..a wonderful play mat, make one for baby and one for grammy's house too!

My Own Free Tutorials for Baby Quilts, Blankets and Misc. Accessories:

I loved making all of these and you will too!!

Shoo Flies, Don't Bother Me:

My Own Whirlygigs Tutorial for a Pinwheel Baby Quilt

The Simplest of Patches Baby Quilt...make it any way you like with patches!

With Strips and Strings!

With String Piecing!

With Panels or Blocks!

Easy As A~B~C Blanket, Infant

Easy Blanket for Infant to Teen

Elephant Quilt Block to applique

Fastest Charity Quilt Top Ever

Fish, Frogs & Bugs

Four Block Brick Quilt, Child to Teen

Four Block Big Bricks, Infant to Teen

Free Baby Quilt Patterns

Free Crib Quilt Pattern: Mile A Minute

Checkerboard

(Free) Dog Quilt Patterns Free Doll and Baby Scottie Dog Quilt

(Free) My List of Easter Quilt Patterns

Free Pioneer Nine-Patch Pattern

happy hearts quilt block...project linus

Click HERE to Download Happy String Flowers for Baby (.pdf)

Take 5 Quilt Pattern Cutting Instructions pdf from accuquilt but works alone, as well

That's My Baby

Wickedly Easy Quilts

Wiggles 'n Giggles Quilt & Pillow FP 103

Yo Yo Nines

AZ Blankets for Kids: (http://www.azblankets4kids.com/patterns.htm) (All AZ patterns are pdf downloads)

Preemie Blanket Instructions and Guidelines

Preemie, 9-Patch Quilt, 18” * (A Favorite of Nurses)

* = Easy
** = Intermediate

Children and Toddler to Teen Patterns:

1-2-3 Quilt, Toddler *

2 by 4 Quilt **

Ohio Star

Split R

Free Quilt Tutorial: Simple Heart Quilt

Free Quilt Tutorial: Strip and Flip Baby Quilt
from Cluck, Cluck, Sew!
Disappearing 9-Patch Quilt Pattern
Word | PDF

Wavy Nine Patch by Debbie, The Traveling Quilter

Chock-A-Block Quilt Blocks: Disappearing 9-Patch Variation

Downy Touch of Comfort Quilt ..check out their website! And see all of their free patterns!

Four Patch Quilt Pattern

Nine Patch Quilt Pattern

Preemie and Bereavement Quilts

Angel Wraps and Preemie Blankets + NICU Gowns

11 comments:

jenclair said...: Whew! I finally managed to get the widget in my sidebar. Thanks for a great list!; 10:02 AM
Genia said...: I DO love your work. I mentioned you on our local Project Linus website as a blogger to watch. You are so thoughtful. Thank you for all this work. I will try to add your widget. You are also on my blogs to watch list. Thanks!; 11:30 AM
quiltmom anna said...: HI Michele,
Wow what great lists that you have created-
I have wrote about your lists in today's post so I thought perhaps you might want to check it out.

I love your new header- it is such a great visual of your name for your lovely blog.

Regards,
Anna; 6:44 PM
dee said...: You're so generous Michele. It's fun just going through the list and seeing what's new.
By the way-for a small price we will come and serenade you during dinner-talk about a quick weight loss method!!; 6:53 AM
Kim said...: Awesome list! Thanks for all your hard work,and being so generous!

does anyone know of a free baby warm wishes pattern,for a beginner? (not for me, i am helping a beginner with a quilt); 3:39 AM
Michele Bilyeu said...: Warm Wishes Quilt for Project Linus: free pattern pdf; 10:18 AM
Anonymous said...: No wonder your blog is listed as among the top 20 sites for quilt patterns for children and babies!; 1:14 PM
Anonymous said...: This is the most amazing list of free patterns for children that I have seen on the entire Internet! Thanks so much!; 5:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Thank you for this site!; 10:19 AM
Anonymous said...: My goodness what a blessing you are! ife for me is now a heap easier and more interesting as I try to fit all this into my life. Thank you so much. Helen B; 2:03 AM
Sandra said...: Your way to enlighten everything on this blog is actually pleasant, everyone manage to efficiently be familiar with it, Thanks a great deal.; 9:40 AM

Pages

Feb 21, 2009

Free Babies and Childrens Quilt and Sewing Tutorials, Patterns, and Links: Updated 2019

And

No-Sew Fleece Blanket (optional pillow)

Directions for making and cutting fringe for a simple fleece blanket:

Make a Fleece Baby Play Pad..use alone or under a little play gym for floor play with baby!

Fabric and Supplies:

My Own Free Tutorials for Baby Quilts, Blankets and Misc. Accessories:

I loved making all of these and you will too!!

My Own Whirlygigs Tutorial for a Pinwheel Baby Quilt

Liberated Heartstrings: Setting the Spirit Free

The Simplest of Patches Baby Quilt...make it any way you like with patches!

With Strips and Strings!

With String Piecing!

With Panels or Blocks!

With Improvisational Quilting!

1-2-3 Quilt, Toddler *

Baby Bunting a 12" block from the 1900's

Baby Flower Box.pdf

Baby, Preemie, Double 4-Patch Quilt, 18” *

Bordered Brick Quilt, Child to Teen *

Buggles Diaper Bag FP 101 and Buggles Baby Quilt FP 102

(My list of 27) Butterfly Quilt Patterns