Piece A Simple Patchwork Quilt for Your Doll's Bed

Top left, each fabric patchwork square measures 4"x4". Bottom left, the back of my quilt is lavender.
Right, a heart and flower motif ribbon dresses up a simple decorative pillow.
A doll sized teddy bear also looks sweet with the old-fashioned country, patchwork quilt.

       Doll patchwork blankets do not need to actually keep your dolls warm so if you can not afford the batting or haven't the skills as of yet to quilt a finished pieced blanket, do not worry, your doll's country blanket will still look quite lovely. Our sample pictured here has no batting and is only finished along it's edges. I will gradually post more complicated versions of miniature doll quilts in the future. In the beginning, it is best to learn one technique at a time, practicing your hand stitching with simple sewing projects.

The arrangement of pillows for our patchwork doll quilt.

Supply List:

• 20 4"x4" inch squares with 1/4 " to 1/2" seam allowance - prints and solids in cotton, For every square across have a print or solid to match it's number. If you have a quilt four blocks wide, then you will need four different fabric prints/solids for that quilt.
• needle and thread
• 1/2 yard of solid colored fabric for backing
• quilt batting (optional for doll quilts)
• scissors (used for cutting fabric)
• yarn, embroidery floss for tying your quilt (optional)
• light weight cardboard (cereal box recycled)
• pencil or quilter's ink pen (ink washes out)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. To make a template cut a 4"x4" square from cardboard.
2. Trace around this template on the backside of your fabrics using a pencil or quilter's pen. Leave a 1/4" to 1/2" seam allowance.
3. Cut out squares and sew them together using a straight stitch in a simple grid pattern. (shown below)
4. You may prefer to lay out your squares in a pattern prior to sewing the block together so that you will know which patterns look best sewn side by side.
5. Iron your raw seams flat as you go. 
6. The quilt example made for our doll's bed measures 17"x21"; that is four squares wide by five squares in length. Lay this finished piece on top of the fabric chosen for backing and cut that backing out leaving the same seam allowance. 
7. You can choose to bind the front and back sides of the doll quilt with a layer of cotton batting (sheet) between but I elected to leave this out for this particular project.
8. I turned the right sides of my pieced blocks and the backing together, sewed around the edges with a 1/4" seam allowance while leaving an opening of approx. 4".
9. Turn the quilt inside out with right sides facing out and whip stitch the opening shut. 
10. Now you may tie the corners of the patchwork to the back of the quilt or quilt the top in the ditches of the block patchwork by traditional means. Both of these finishes are optional for a doll's quilt. 

More Doll Patchwork Quilts:

• Make a quilt for a doll bed with Rob and Ruby Appell - cute daddy daughter team
• How to make a patchwork doll blanket by Monica Skov - very detailed steps
• Doll Bed Quilt for American Girl Dolls by Needlepointers - lace trim around the edge

Sample block patterned quilt (life size) for a real bedroom,
 plus cute pillows to match. I've since made a similar pillow.

 

A Simple Block Patterned Quilt

      This square, block quilt pattern from Kentucky was published in a tiny column of the Daily public ledger., May 30, 1907. It reads, "Here is a pieced sample of a quilt which some of your readers have been asking for. I have not seen it in any paper as yet. Thought the ladies would think it strange that I did not send it in after I had written about it. I have seen several inquiries about it lately - Alberta."

      Patterns as simple as this 4'x4' square sewn together to create an entire quilt make excellent projects for beginners. You can cut the squares in advance using scrap fabrics and carry these in a small tote or basket along with: quilters thread, sharp needles and a pair of scissors. Work at piecing the squares during the free moments of a car ride or during a long journey/vacation. Before you know it, you will have a lovely quilt top to tie or quilt into your fist handmade blanket!

Quick Tips for Planning Patchwork Quilts:

    1. If you have the luxury of purchasing fabrics for a patchwork quilt, it is important to select both solid colors and prints. This will help an inexperienced sewer to experiment with sophisticated fabric combinations. How to pick fabrics for your quilt with Nancy.

    2. It is also very important that some of your fabrics are dark in intensity (value) and some of the fabrics are much lighter in comparison. Quilters refer to this as contrast. 5 Tips for Using Color and Prints in your quilting by Melanie Ham.

    3. Fabrics sewn together should also be made from the same materials when you are a beginner. If you are going to quilt with cotton fabrics... all of the fabrics used in your quilt should be made of cotton. If you are sewing with wool, all of the fabrics in that patchwork quilt should be made from wool. 

• Fabrics made from alternative materials stretch in odd ways when sewn together. You will have greater trouble keeping seams intact, your project may stretch unevenly as you sew, and the strength of your threads will break down quicker.
• Wool, cotton, silk etc. all fade at different rates. So if your quilt has cotton in it, this will fade differently than say a hand-dyed wool. The overall visual appearance of the patchwork will look strange once the patchwork begins to age and is washed.
• Quilts made from a variety of materials also break down in the wash. Threads do tear apart quicker due to tension (shrinking and pulling).

    4. Prior to cutting and sewing, your fabrics need to be laundered. This removes chemical treatments given to fabrics in stores in order to keep them looking pressed and clean longer.

• Some folks are very sensitive to these chemicals and have allergic reactions to them.
• Fabrics depending on where they are from could bleed into the wash the first few times they are soaked. If you do not wash them in advance to quilting, these could bleed into the parts of your quilt that have contrasting colors. This is a disaster simple to avoid with prewashing. More reasons - 6 tips for prewashing fabric by SewingDIY.