Quilt from Baby Clothes - Genius Way to Save Your Keepsake Baby Outfits

Quilt from baby clothes – how to make a meaningful memory blanket from your favorite outfits.

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As a first time mom (or second, or third, or more!) you’ll probably find yourself falling in love with some baby clothes, whether it’s the going home outfit, a birthday onesie, or even just a beautiful color or patterned sleeper. You might just find yourself regretting the day your little one outgrows it and you need to move it on… but you don’t have to! You can make a quilt from baby clothes – it’s one of the easiest and best ways to save your favorite outfits and create a lovely memory blanket for your child at the same time.

Baby clothes can become quite memorable and sentimental.. yon’t want to part with those favorite outfits… so many memories. Though, realistically speaking, if your family is complete chances are you won’t look at them again.

Some clothes are just too special to toss out or donate, or even lend to friends. For those, here’s what to do:

How to Make a Quilt From Baby Clothes

First things first, gather up all the clothes you’d like to use in your memory quilt.

If this is an ongoing project (because your baby is still a baby), set aside a storage container or box for the special outfits you’d like to use in your quilt.

Note, you don’t have to save every last piece of clothing – just save the ones that really have meaning to you.

The easiest type of quilt to make is a simple one:

Square blocks all of the same size.

If you’re a more advanced seamstress… you probably aren’t reading this post! But, feel free to change things up as much as you like.

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What You Need to Make Your Baby Clothes Quilt

baby clothes
quilter’s ruler or a cardboard square cut to the size you’d like (you can literally make this out of an old cereal box)
fusible interfacing (baby clothes are often made with stretchy or delicate material and interfacing can help strengthen it to be more hard wearing… and easier to work with)
a sewing machine
pins, thread, fabric chalk pencil
fabric scissors
pre-washed cotton batting to size
pre-washed cotton backing, you might like to use a crib sheet as the backing
1/2 inch wide double fold bias tape in a contrasting color

Instructions

Decide how big you want your quilt to be – factor in how many baby clothes items you want to include in the quilt, how large those items are and work out how many squares you’re going to need.
Use your quilter’s ruler to pin out or use the chalk pencil to mark out squares on your baby clothes.
Cut squares to size with fabric scissors (or use a rotary cutter and self-healing mat, if you’ve got it.)
Repeat until you’ve cut enough squares.
Add interfacing to the back of each square.
Spend some time placing your squares in an order you like – maybe you want to arrange by when your baby wore things (newborn to toddler), or maybe you just want to make sure things look harmonious.
Paying attention to seam allowance (you want to make sure you use the same seam allowance everywhere or your quilt will not end up square), pin your squares together in long strips.
Sew each square to the next until you’ve created a full row.
Pin each row to the next and sew together.
Place the finished quilt onto the batting and sew.
Bind the edges with a strip of a contrasting color.

For more detailed instructions on the finer points of a simple memory quilt construction, I defer to the mastery of Martha Stewart. It’s been a while since I’ve worked with bias tape and batting!

Or for a slightly more complex construction (including adding applique and unique items like socks to your finished quilt), check out these instructions at Quilt Keepsake.

Don’t Want to Make Your Own Memory Quilt?

I’ll admit it – I’m not that crafty… I tend to gloss over complicated bits like batting and binding (ok, confession – I rarely ever get a project to that stage of completion).

While I’d love to make my own quilt out of my favorite baby clothes, I’m probably not going to… or if I did, it would take at least 18 years. Know thyself.

Luckily, there are some amazing crafty quilters out there who will do it for you!

You might be able to find a local quilter… or you can head on over to Etsy (my favorite!)

Having someone make your quilt means:

it’ll save you loads of time and frustration (especially if you’re not an experienced sewer or quilter.)
you’ll get to enjoy your memory quilt for longer
less chance of your baby clothes deteriorating from age before you have a chance to enjoy them in the quilt