Super Quick, Super Cute, Super Star-Baby Blocks
Posted by JessicaO on Monday, January 28th, 2013
Hello all you crafty people! This is Jessica from MamaJama Quilts. I am excited to be able to post this follow up tutorial! Last Monday we made the Super Quick, Super Cute, Super Star Baby Quilt. Today I get to show you the coordinating toy baby block.
I am located in Layton, Utah where we are in the middle of our inversion season with an ice storm on top of that. That means we haven't seen the sun in days, and it is freezing cold outside. The positive part is I get to stay in where it's nice and warm and look at these bright,fun fabrics that make me smile.
Let’s get started!
Supplies:
One- 5” stacker- I used the Super Star fabric to match last week’s quilt
Two- 4X4X2 pieces of white foam filling (we’ll talk more about this in a minute)
Pieces of ribbon (Optional)
Your everyday sewing supplies
A word about filling material:
I experimented a little with filling. I am always frustrated with the polyester fiber fill. It seems lumpy and I hate shoving my fingers into the small openings. I am always afraid I’ll rip my seam open. So I tried Regular Density Foam and Densified Batting. Neither package says what the material is made of but both say they are hypo-allergenic and washable. Both cut well with a serrated knife and trim up with a pair of sharp scissors.
The biggest difference I found was the volume of the foam vs. the batting. When I filled the block with both 2” foam or 2” batting, both cut to 4”X4” I found that the foam filled up more space. With the densified batting I cut 5 layers of cotton batting to help fill in the gap because it wasn't as full looking or feeling.
The verdict? The batting was fine but when I buy my next round, I will get the foam for sure. I really liked the firmly filled block.
Now we can cut the foam:
Start by marking the foam into a grid measuring 4”X4”.
Once the grid is marked, using a sharp knife cut the foam into squares using the grid lines.
I found it easier to cut the foam if I pushed on both sides of the foam with an outward direction away from the knife. When I wasn’t doing that the foam would bunch up and cause uneven cutting and become so dense it was harder to get through.
Do Don't
You will need two of the 4”X 4” X 2” pieces of foam for each block.
Onto sewing:
I opened my 5” stacker and sorted the fabrics. This allowed me to get my blocks in a pleasing order to my eye.
A note about stackers: Because each fabric line is unique they don’t all have the same amount of pieces per stack. You can easily tell how many pieces are in your stack by reading the back of the label. Example: Super Star has 22 pieces per bundle
Each block will need 6- 5” X 5” pieces. Lay them out so you can see all four sides, top and bottom.
To make life easier I marked the back of each block .5” from the outside. I used a .5” seam allowance so baby can push, pull, and bite while the seams had plenty of protection from coming undone.
Start by matching two of the side pieces and sewing them together starting and stopping at the .5” mark, using a .5” seam allowance. Make sure to back stich at the beginning of your sewing, again, we should do what we can to keep baby safe.
End at the opposite .5” mark and back stitch.
Continue by sewing the other two side pieces together and then sewing all four pieces to create a square.
I found it easier to match up my top square with the side box by pinning to mark the middle of the square on all four sides and then pinning the middle of each side piece in a similar manner.
Using the pins as a guide match up the top piece and the square box. Pin to hold.
Fold the fabric so your sewing line is flat. This will help keep the other sides and corners out of the way.
Sew top on using the .5” seam allowance and starting and stopping at the .5” marks. Remember to back stitch.
Add the bottom of the block in a similar manner as the top. This time leave a space open to add the filling. I use two pins to mark an opening to remind myself not to sew the whole thing shut.
I have been tempted to leave the whole side open but have found it much easier to hand stitch the opening closed when I have already started the sewing. Make sure you back stitch at the pins to give you the reinforcement you need to push the filling in.
Turn the block right-side.
Stuff the block
Top stitch the opening closed.
Because the Super Star has 22 pieces per bundle I was able to make three blocks. (22 pieces / 6 pieces per block = 3 blocks)
Click on the pictures above to visit my etsy shop and purchase the supplies for these blocks.
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January 30th, 2013 at 3:08 p.m.
March 19th, 2013 at 4:28 p.m.