Baby Bedding | HoneyBear Lane

Charm Pack Minky Quilt

September 14, 2011 By Heidi @ Honeybear Lane 7 Comments

Here is my latest baby blanket. I used an old charm pack I got a long time ago and now I have NO clue what it’s called. If you recognize it, tell me what it’s called! I think the design company is Free Spirit.

I decided to try and do this quilt with minky and cotton. And let me tell you, it was a challenge! Minky has this nasty way of stretching and getting all bunched up when sewn with cotton. Cotton stays in place pretty well, so the combo of the two was tricky. The best way I found to keep the minky from stretching was to sew the with the cotton on top and minky on bottom. Even still, the squares didn’t end up lining up perfectly.

For the quilting: I backed this quilt with white minky dot and didn’t put any batting in between. I basted it with safety pins only and it stayed pretty well. Mostly because the only thing I quilted was the cotton squares in a cinnamon bun pattern (a swirl). I used a free motion foot and it went pretty fast!

The binding is made by stitching the remainder of the charm pack squares together and then cutting it all in half lengthwise (so it’s 2.5″ wide.)

I really like this blanket because of its softness. It’s a perfect blanket for my new baby, to put in a stroller or to take out or whatever. It’s not very big either. Maybe she will love it so much it will become her blankie?

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Filed Under: baby, baby bedding, baby blankets, quilting

Letters from Home Quilt with Hometown Sweetwater Fabrics

September 7, 2011 By Heidi @ Honeybear Lane 1 Comment

I am so excited to have the Fat Quarter Shop as a new sponsor!! We’re going to have a super fun giveaway from them soon, but first I have to introduce this amazing new fabric collection to you. The Fat Quarter Shop sent me four charm packs of Hometown by Sweetwater. The color scheme is deep red, light blue, gray, and a soft yellow, as well as a cream.

Isn’t it pretty? The polka dots are my favorite.

So what can you make with four charm packs? A lot! So far I’ve made this quilt…

I call this quilt “Letters from Home”. I love that name because each of the squares looks like an envelope and it’s made with the Hometown Sweetwater collection. Some of the fabrics are basically subway art with town and city names on there. And there are a ton of town names–towns that most people have never heard of. I haven’t found my own hometown yet, but there are a few city names on there that are nearbye.

I have one more quilt in the works from the Hometown collection and I am so excited about the design. As for this design, come back tomorrow for the free tutorial. :)

As for the quilt, if you’re interested in purchasing, it’s in my shop now! Remember there’s a 15% off everything discount IHEARTYOU until this Friday.

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Filed Under: baby bedding, baby blankets, charm packs, cream crib bedding, fabric, fabric designers, free easy quilt patterns, free sewing patterns, honeybear lane shop, quilting, quilting for beginners, sewing, shop items

Minky Crib Sheet Tutorial

December 30, 2010 By Heidi @ Honeybear Lane 19 Comments

It’s not hard to google ‘how to make a crib sheet’ and find some decent tutorials. That’s why I’m sharing this with you. Huh?

{Sometimes I wonder how much information I should just ‘give away’ since this is my livelihood. But I guess it’s not that hard to get information on HOW to sew things….what’s difficult is actually SEWING the item. So here’s your free info.}

So anyway, here is a tutorial on how to make a Minky crib sheet. Cuz yeah…minky’s awesome. I would drape myself in minky if I it was socially acceptable.

Supplies

2 yard of minky

3 or so yards of thin elastic

Coordinating thread

1. Measure your mattress. Most crib mattresses are 51 x 28 inches, but obviously there will be some variations. So measure. Measure the length and width and then add 8 inches to each side (16 total per side.) So you’d have to cut about a 67 x 44 rectangle.

2. Fold your rectangle in half, then in half again. Find the corner where all the corners meet and measure out a square that is 8″ x 8″. Cut out the square.

3. Unfold your rectangle…you should have a big plus sign. Starting with one (former) corner, put the two 8″ cut sides WRONG sides together. Pin in place. Are they WRONG sides together??

4. Sew each pinned side together. It should feel like you made a mistake…seeing the seam allowance on the right side of the fabric.

Like this! 5. Now clip the seam allowance so it’s no larger than 1/4 inch.

6. Turn your seam inside out, so you are looking at the wrong side of the fabric. Then sew another seam with a 5/8 inch seam allowance. You have created a French seam!

This is what it looks like up close. French seams are awesome for crib sheets and the best option for minky. Minky sheds like crazy and no amount of serging will get rid of the shedding completely. Do that to all four corners and you are ready for the elastic casing!

7. Fold about 1 1/2 inch of fabric up to start your casing.

8. Before you start pinning up your casing, fold down about a half inch down.

9. Place pins in every few inches like this. Then start sewing along the edge of your 1/2 inch fold.

10. Sew along the entire edge but leave just a few inches open to put the elastic in.

11. Pin the end of your elastic

12. Now the fun part (not really.) You get to guide your elastic through the casing all around the sheet.

It will take some serious work, but you can do it! I have faith in you. Try to even the elastic out as you go, and then when you’ve pulled the other end out, even it up so that you have an equal amount of stretch throughout the sheet.