Scrap Quilts for Dolls

What to do with fabric strips 5" long of mostly, but perhaps not exactly, the same width? Make a scrap quilt!

I had a four year old home for a week while her three older siblings were at Grandpa and Grandma's house. She liked these scraps so we made them into a doll quilt for her. Had just enough to make a little pocket. Four year olds can't stand to have one of their favorites not included. As you can see, it isn't just for dolls. It is also for bears or puppies or ponies.


Because of it's size, I actually made a second attempt at hand quilting. This time I tried outlining each block. Except that got boring so on one of the rectangles, I followed the dots diagonally and on another one I followed the swirls of the flowers.

I tell you, that is enough hand quilting for me for a while. Binding is enough to fill my quota of hand work for a while. I think it will grow on me, but now school has started and soccer, gymnastics, etc so busy off and running instead of sitting and fiddling.

HAND Quilted Doll Quilt?

First thing you should know about me is that I quilt because I can do it all on machine. I piece by machine. I have a quilting machine. I even bind by machine. Okay so sometimes I will finish my binding by hand. I love machine quilting. I do appreciate hand quilting. In my opinion there is good hand quilting and good machine quilting. I also think there is poor hand quilting and poor machine quilting. One type of quilting is not inherently better than the other. Each have their place, in my opinion.

That being said, I have often thought that I would like to learn to hand quilt. I knew I would start on a baby quilt because that size of project would be managable. I have seen many hand quilted quilts. I have seen people hand quilting in guild meeting. BUT last month I went to a hand quilting demonstration at our local Peteetneet Quilt Show by Dawnalyn Hall who has won several viewer's choice awards for her hand quilting in our quilt show. That inspired me to want to try hand quilting sooner than later.

I fell in love with these doll quilts from the Temecula Quilt Company that were on the Moda Bake Shop. I finished one of my projects on Saturday and whipped up my doll quilt from my scraps. Here it is marked and basted ready to quilt! It was little enough that I didn't really get nervous starting.

FYI -- my doll quilt I made with half charm squares. I didn't cut them down to 2" x 4" as the pattern says. I now know that the Temecula Quilt Company cut down the charms so the sashing fabric and the backing fabric could come from a fat quarter. Mine could not. I have two sashing rows that are pieced. Doesn't bother me.


I had planned on quilting it with echo quilting or stitch in the ditch. However, I was inspired by this post from Minick and Simpson "Fuss Free Hand Quilting." I love the baptist fan pattern. I love how Laurie Simpson pointed out the "randomness" of her arcs, and that she had made them that way on purpose -- to make it look more antique.

TA DA! I am so pleased with how my first hand quilting experience with. I loved the doll quilt size. It was perfect. I was able to quilt it in two days.

My stitches are uneven, I think I've got about 4 stitches per inch, my curves aren't quite smooth, and I LOVE IT! I haven't washed it yet. I love quilts after they are washed.

Doll Quilts

I saw these doll quilts at the Moda Bake Shop and instantly fell in love with them.

Then I saw that the Temecula Quilt Co designed them! That was one of the shops I visited a couple weeks ago when I went to California with the family. How fun is that! Click on the picture or the link above for the free pattern.

The following information will tell you how nutty I am -- when I make these quilts (it may take me a while, but these are definately on my to do list) I am going to just cut the charm square in half 2 1/2" x 5" instead of 2" x 4" making the inbetween squares 2 1/2" squares and the strips 2 1/2". I am sure there was a reason to cut it down, but faster is better for me. It is very difficult for me to follow a pattern exactly. I usually have to change it in some way. That's why I write my own patterns.