When we moved to Texas our twins were in preschool. This year the kids were now in the 4 year old class and would be "graduating" preschool and entering elementary school in the fall. For an end of the school year class gift to the teacher, I thought it would be nice to make something of a memory quilt. At first I thought it would be nice for each of the kids to draw something they had an interest in, but better yet to make it extra special, have the kids draw self portraits. Okay... the twins were in separate classes with two teachers each... and I thought of this in January... with a scheduled trip to Disney for spring break.... what was I thinking? January sounds like such a long time from May but when you need to get drawings made, scanned, and lastly sewn and quilted... yikes, I really underestimated the time.
I had never really quilted before. I had sewn all my life but I think I had only made one quilt on a machine. In the end the quilts, my kids, my husband, dog, cat, and myself survived! And not to toot my own horn, but I will, they turned out pretty great (and the teachers were a bit teary eyed too!).
Here is what I did:
One - figured out and decide on a budget. Since this was a class project and not something from just our family, I wanted no surprises for anyone. I figured out the cost of fabric and supplies (batting, thread, etc). I didn't charge for my time. I'm not a professional tailor by any means, I was just doing this as a mom. After all said and done, it came to less that $10/family.
I asked each of the parents to have their kids draw a portrait of themselves and sign (first name only) on an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper. Regular printer paper works best. There is an option to have the kids draw directly on fabric with fabric crayons or fabric markers but WARNING: if you follow this method, you lose the ability to crop or remove any mistakes they may have made.
Once you have the portraits, scan them into the computer. I used a simple paint program that came standard on my Mac. Brightening up anything colors that may have become dulled in the transfer process. Cropping and cleaning up any mistakes as needed. Once ready for print, I used printer ready fabric. You can purchase the sheets in packets of 3 or 10 (and maybe more now) from your local Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michaels' or Hobby Lobby. The brand I used was June Tailor. Just make sure you get the machine washable fabric. Some are dry clean only.
I mentioned I was not a quilter but what I didn't mention is I was lucky enough to have befriended a neighbor who was an avid quilter. She gave me great pointers as I went along. With all the factors involved, lack of time, lack of quilting experience, I had to keep it simple. I wasn't going to create something as challenging as a wedding ring or grandmother's garden quilt. Squares and rectangles all they way! For ease, I purchased coordinating fat quarter squares (4 1/2") squares and jelly rolls (2 1/2" W x 42" L). Common terms in the the quilting world. I just love it when I learn something new! Anyway, if you are on a tight budget, buying fabric by the yard is much more economical, but requires more cutting which = more time (and = potentially more mistakes). I started by laying out the jelly rolls and cutting them into 2 1/2" sections, creating 2 1/2" square pieces. When you quilt you stick to a 1/4" seam. When the 2 1/2" squares are sewn together a 2" finished piece is created. I found it easier to sew several pieces together to create a long line or train of 2" pieces that would eventually frame the portraits. Looking at the pictures you'll notice the portraits have a finished size of 8" x 10". This made it easy using the 2" framing pieces. As long as you go slow and use pins to keep things together, it will be fine. I noticed when I got a bit cocky and didn't follow those two simple rules is when I got into trouble. I realized I needed a 1" frame to equal out the 4" squares. I finished the back with one of the fabrics. I made each different and sewed a label to the teacher on each one with the class name, i.e. Penguins or Dragonflies and the school year.
Happy quilting!