Sewing with Kids - Caleb's Quilt - Finished!!!

 

 Day 13

We are almost there! Today we sew on the binding.

(If you are just now joining us, you can see what we have done so far here)

 Today, Caleb begins by cutting seven 3" strips of our 45" width binding fabric:

We used a Kona Cotton 

He sewed them into one long strip, right sides together:

Next, he ironed all seams open:

 Then we ironed the long strip in half all the way along making one very, very long 1 1/2" strip with happy sides out. This was then sewn along the edge of the quilt all the way around. Be sure to start with about a foot of the binding hanging off. This helps at the finish when joining up ends.

Since I sewed my finger recently on this powerful not-going-to-stop-for-anything machine, he was a bit nervous. You can see him holding it quite far from any needle action.

I still have the blue painter's tape on the machine as a guide.

Caleb chose to not use pins, but rather to arrange it by hand as he went along. Do what ever you think is best for your child's sewing ability.

And, he makes faces while sewing, too!

I told him so:

Now, the directions for corners:

When you come to the corner, stop about 1/2" from the edge. Stop with your needle down. Pick up the pressure foot, and pivot, then back up off the edge.

Remove the quilt from the machine and trim threads.

This doesn't make sense, but it really works. Trust me. Caleb did :)
Now fold back the strip, off the quilt in the direction you just backed off, making a perfect little triangle:

Then fold it back straight along the edge in the direction you will continue to sew. You will be able to feel that perfect triangle under your thumb:

 Now put the quilt to the machine again. Begin sewing 1/2" from the edge, being sure to not catch that 'triangle' you folded underneath. You will begin stitching just after that triangle, keeping it free:

Here you can see the blue painter's tape that helps guide Caleb's straight stitching:

When you get all the way around to the beginning, stop sewing about a foot from where you began.

Remove the quilt from the machine again. Lay the binding around, and mark where it will meet with a chalk marker.

Do this on both ends. This marks where it will be joined:

Now open it up, pinning where the chalk meets, and stitch.

Trim off excess. Caleb had a lot of excess. Better safe than sorry, I say:

Next, fold the strips back together and finish sewing the binding on to the quilt:

Umm. Caleb was pretty excited at this point! Almost done!

Day 14 - Finish!

Snuggle up on the couch, turn on a good movie, and hand sew the binding - together. Just fold it over and slip-stitch it down. We used dull scissors since we were sitting on the couch. He also used 2 bobby pins to hold down the binding, moving them as he went along, instead of the usual pins. I thought this might be a bit too tedious, so I joined in to help him.

 Guess who slept happily covered in his own quilt last night! 

He thanked me for helping him make it. So precious.

I hope he always remembers our time making a quilt together. I know I will.