Quilts made from baby clothes are some of the cutest quilts we make. When a box of baby clothes come into the shop, we all ooh and aw over the clothes. Some of us are particular to girl clothes and other prefer the boy clothing. Whatever the gender, we delight in making these quilts.
Typically, baby clothes quilts are made for the mother, rather than the child. That said, they are usually made with the child in mind to inherited the quilt when they have children of their own. These quilts are expensive. Some people don’t want their child “ruining” the quilt.
Baby clothes quilts are time consuming and tricky to make well, and thus cost more than a T-shirt quilt. Below we will explain the two different styles of baby clothes quilts.
There are additional photos of baby clothes quilts at the bottom of this article.
Two Styles of Quilts
We make two styles of baby clothes quilts – simple and complex. As you might suspect from the name, a simple baby clothes quilt cost less than a complex. Both types do cost more than a traditional T-shirt quilt because of the material and the number of blocks.
Below is information about each style.
Simple
Our simple baby clothes quilts are made using a block or two from each clothing item. These blocks are just blocks of fabric without any special adornments. We start by cutting one block from each item. We then save the unused portion of the clothing items in case we don’t have enough to make a quilt the size you want. The blocks are puzzled together like our T-shirt quilts.
Our simple baby clothes quilts do not include the appliqué or the sewing down of items such as necklines, collars, bibs, hats, socks, outfits or other such items.
Although these quilts appear relativity simple, they do require a very skilled sewer and quilter to make them look right. Baby clothes fabric is insanely stretchy and difficult to work with. Here is a link to the pricing page.
Complex
Our complex baby clothes quilts also use a block from each item, but these blocks may include zippers, buttons, bows, collars and other adornments. We also include items that will need to be stitched onto or appliquéd onto another block of fabric. These items include entire outfits, dresses, socks, soft shoes, bibs, hats and bloomers.
The result is an interactive quilt with a 3D feel to it. Buttons can be unbuttoned, zippers zip and unzip. Bibs may flip up. Stuffed animal’s feet and arms are free to move. Quite simply, these quilts are wonderful.
A complex baby clothes quilt takes much, much more work than a simple one. The variety of fabrics mixed with the 3D items makes sewing and quilting these quilts very difficult. Thus, they are priced at a higher rate than a simple baby clothes quilt.
To learn more about having a quilt made from baby clothes, consider downloading our Baby Clothes Quilt Buyer’s guide.
How to Plan a Baby Clothes Quilt - 8 Steps
1. Decide what style of quilt you want made – complex or simple.
You can decide this based on your budget or on the clothing you have. If you have a lot of items that have special adornments you want to include, then a complex is the way to go.
If you have a limited budget or the clothing you have is fairly standard without a lot of frill or extras, a simple style would be the way to proceed. Here is a link to the pricing page.
2. Collect the Clothing
Simple - If you want a simple baby clothes quilt, look at the items you choose in terms of having a block or two cut from each item. We can use clothing and blankets. We will try to take the most interesting section of each item. If there is a pocket or a graphic, we will use that section. We will avoid collars, buttons and other items.
Complex – Have fun, we can use just about anything you send our way. If there is something that we can’t use, we will let you know and return the item with the quilt.
3. Wash and Dry the Clothing
We like to work with clean clothes. Even if your items were packed up clean, please wash them. It’s not a lot of fun to have to work with musty smelling clothing.
Please do not use detergents with perfumes or dryer sheets. This just makes us sneeze and get congested.
Stains… yep, baby clothes tend to have stains. We will look for areas on the clothing without stains. And if it is too stained, we will work with you to decide if the item is important enough to include even though it’s stained.
4. Mark what you don’t want us to use.
We ask that you put a masking tape X on any part of an item you don’t want used. With baby clothes, typically there is not much to mark not us use. You don’t need to mark stains, we try to avoid them. You might choose to mark a side of a baby T-shirt you don’t want used.
The more flexibility we have, the more interesting quilt you will have.
If you are planning a complex quilt, you are welcome to separate out the dresses or other items you would like to use whole or as much as possible.
It’s important to go through each item and decide if it belongs in the quilt. Please don’t just toss everything in a box and call it good. This approach tends to end up with items in the quilt that don’t belong.
5. Box Up Your Items
Here’s an article about boxing up your items. It has great information that will help your box arrive here in one piece.
6. Print out an order form
On the order form, be sure to mark that you want a baby clothes quilt and check in if you want it simple or complex. Note that we cannot make a double-sided or stained-glass baby clothes quilt.
Here’s a link to the order form.
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7. E-mail or call your quilter to tell them to expect your items
The e-mail address and phone number are on the order form.
8. Ship to the address at the top of the order form
We will call or e-mail you when your box arrives. If we have questions, we will ask them before we begin cutting.
After we finish cutting your items, we email you with size and cost options.
There are additional photos of baby clothes quilts at the bottom of this article.
To learn more about having a quilt made from baby clothes, consider downloading our Baby Clothes Quilt Buyer’s guide.
