Thursday, May 28, 2009

Instructions for Creating a Classroom Quilt

AKA, Classroom quilt project.

When I was looking for instructions on this- not so much on making the quilt, but on what to send out to parents- I came up completely empty handed. To aid some of the rest of you out there who are equally lazy about writing up your own instructions to the classroom parents, here you go:


As an end of the year gift for our teachers, we are planning to create a memory quilt for both Mrs. B1 and Mrs. B2. No sewing skills necessary! All you need to do is the following-

1. Receive 2 squares of muslin in your Thursday folder
2. Put your child's name on the "back" of each piece in pencil (both sides are the same, just pick one to be the back). A name on the front is also okay if this is part of the decoration!
3. DO NOT CUT THE FABRIC. Don't change its size in any way.
4. Have your child draw a picture of anything they want on the muslins. Fabric crayons, marker, or paint are best, but you can also use Sharpies. They could also embroider or applique something on if you want to get fancy. Please draw one picture for each teacher- hence the two pieces. If they are different, then mark with the teacher's name on the back as well.
5. Leave a 1" margin (as best you can) around the outside of the picture. Some of the fabric will disappear into the seam allowance.
6. Return the finished pictures to (quilter's kid) by (your deadline here); big Ziploc bags are best so that the picture doesn't get harmed in transit.

That's it! If you can sew and want to participate further, please let me know:
your email (at) email (dot) com

Also, when the tops are completed we will tie the quilts together. I'll send an update then to see who wants to participate. There's a nice example of a teacher gift quilt (from a preschool class) here.

Please let me know if you and your child do NOT want to participate; otherwise I'll be pestering you after (your deadline) if your quilt blocks have not appeared.

Thanks!
signed, resident crazy person

Additional notes:
  1. If you don't care if this is a surprise, then by all means coordinate with the teachers to see if they would like to just do it as a classroom activity. We're trying to surprise our teachers.
  2. I asked for a small contribution ($3 - $5 per kid) to cover my costs. This did not cover the costs for the two quilts, but it was nice to have a little recompense. Between the batting, the muslin, the sashing fabrics, and especially the backing and binding fabrics, I probably spent over $100. Yikes.

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