Let's Make a Cot Quilt - Part 3

With the winter chill starting to set in, I don't think that we could have time making this quilt any better! There is nothing better than piecing together your beautiful quilt while it's raining and cold outside and there really isn't a better excuse to stay in your pj's all day!!

Now, after leaving the decision for the cot quilt pattern open to you all for the past week, the verdict is in. Drumroll please.......You have decided that you would like to give the Strip Quilt a go! Which is great. This is a simple, money and time friendly quilt to make, that produces a beautiful, unique and eye-catching finished product.

Where to from here? You need to hit the shops!! Part 1 of this series will help you with your fabric selection. 

Shopping List:

• 0.15m x 11 different fabrics for strips on the front of the quilt
• 1m fabric for the quilt backing
• 1m wadding (I use a wool/cotton blend called NuWool. It washes well, doesn't go patchy over time and is comfortable to use in both summer and winter. I think that it is worth the little extra money, but a 100 % polyester or cotton wadding will work also)
• 0.5m contrasting fabric for the binding
• Co-ordinating thread
• Quilting tools and equipment (see Let's make a Cot Quilt - Part 1 for a list)

**TIP: you don't need to purchase all of the fabric above in one go. It can be worth waiting to see what the front of the quilt looks like, before you make a decision on the backing or binding fabrics. You can go with a material that you have used in the front of the quilt or opt for a completely contrasting fabric. 

**Note: the Strip Quilt we are making is composed of equal width strips. If you would like to try any of the quilts shown as samples in Let's Make a Cot Quilt - Part 2, simply purchase greater widths of some fabrics! Anything can work, so don't be too scared to give it a go!

The materials I have chosen have a very feminine, vintage feel using pinks, greens and whites to blend together paisley, polka-dot and ballerina prints. You can see the fabrics are a mix of simple, small prints with a limited number of larger, feature prints. This quilt is to for a little girls nursery, whose mum has gone with french vintage theme.

Before our next post, you can spend the week preparing your fabrics! You will need to cut 1 x 4.5" strip from each of your 11 quilt front fabrics. This does sound simple, but there are a couple of things to bear in mind when cutting your quilting fabric.

• Iron any creases out of the fabric before cutting it
• Leave the fabric folded in half when you are cutting it
• You need a straight edge to measure your cut....therefore use the lines and measurements on your cutting mat to line up your fabric and cut about 1/4" of fabric from the edge.
• When actually cutting you fabric to width, always use the measurements and lines on your ruler (the cutting mat can warp and loose accuracy)
• The edge of the fabric with the white edging and text (opposite to the main fold) is known as the selvage. Always cut the fabric with the selvage closest to you, this ensures you are cutting with the grain of the fabric.
• Hold your ruler firmly as you cut with the rotary cutter (otherwise all your effort to get a straight edge will be wasted!)

Once you have 11 x 4.5" strips you are ready to go!!  Make sure you don't trim the length of these strips at all!! Have fun playing around with the order in which you would like to attach them as you will need to have decided this for next time. Until next post.....happy cutting!!!

Phoebe
xo

This post is a part 3 of a 6-part series, see below for other posts in this series.
Let's Make a Cot Quilt - Part 1, Fabric Selection & Quilting Tools
Let's Make a Cot Quilt - Part 2, Quilting Patterns
Let's Make a Cot Quilt - Part 4, Piecing the Strip Quilt
Let's Make a Cot Quilt - Part 5. Introduction to Machine Quilting
Let's Make a Cot Quilt - Part 6. Attaching the Binding