I tried this and... loved it-Cheaters Quilt

"I tried it and...." is a new series I am doing on my blog where I share about ideas that I have found and tried and how I or my family has liked them.  There are so many great ideas out there.  I am so thankful I don't have to think of everything on my own. 

I wanted to make each of my girls a new quilt for Christmas, something that was large enough to snuggle in.  I didn't want to have to sew an actual quilt ( not enjoyable for me).  So I made them these: (it is the perfect compromise between a handmade quilt without actually having to make a quilt that I could find).

The idea came from a blog called A Little Bit Funky  If you haven't ever seen it before ( I hadn't but found it on Pinterest) then you need to check it out, especially the 20 minute crafter segments (LOVE THEM).  She made this for her boys:

She bought a down comforter (crib size) and then attached squares of fabric using an iron on adhesive (like you could use Wonder Under) and then she sewed around all the edges.  You can check our her blog for the specifics.  I thought that the final product was so cute.  I wanted to make a couple for my girls.  I didn't like the price of down comforters but found these ones on Amazon for $20.00.  (I have linked to them below).  I also found a bunch of lightly used receiving blankets at our thrift store in town and bought them.   I wanted to dye the quilts so that they wouldn't look quite as dirty as fast.  I did this with some Rit dye (which is super easy to use only not on polyester...which the quilts happen to be).  So I was hoping for a deeper pink but ended up with a pale pink after 2 trys at dying.  Still the end result seemed to suit the fabric squares I had.

Blankets purchased from here

The end product looked like this: (I did an A one and a B one for my girls).  I will say that it worked best when I covered the entire fabric block with Wonder Under instead of trying to cheat on the cheaters quilt and just putting a little bit.  I sewed all my horizontal lines first and then my vertical. 

 When it is washed the edges will fray.  I haven't washed them yet so I don't know how much frayage there will be but I am not concerned about it because I don't mind that look. 

Overall the project was not that difficult; a little time consuming but not nearly as bad as sewing an actual quilt.  I think these would make cute baby quilts as well.  I definitely will try it again.  Go and check out A Little Bit Funky; it is fantastic.  Thanks for the idea.