Homemade holiday gifts

by Maureen

Homemade holiday gifts to make you feel warm inside and out. For many families, part of the fun of Christmas is loving and laughing (ok, and sometimes groaning or sniffling) together, remembering the Christmases that came before it and the times spent together during them. With that in mind, some of the nicest homemade holiday gifts are ones that give memories and tell stories. A memory quilt is one of my favorite versions of this, and multi-tasks as a practical gift to give in the cold of winter, as well.

There are references available online to tell you what size a blanket or quilt would be good for each size of bed or as a “throw”, and how much fabric is going to be needed, to account for all the hems. To make a memory quilt, you are going to take advantage of launder-able photo transfer paper for fabric. This product comes in varieties for dark or light fabrics, to reduce the “halo” effect around inexactly cut images. You’ll need to follow the instructions that come with the product to make sure you know to reverse images if necessary before printing – especially if there is text – and how to feed the paper into the printer so that the images print on the proper side.

If you are going for a traditional quilt of joined squares, prepare your photos to be the same size as the intended showing squares. There are “quilting square” tools available to use as a reference for size, and then as guides for marking and cutting your pre-washed quilting cotton fabric so that your image is centered on a slightly larger space that leaves room for hemming. You want all fabric to be pre-washed and pre-dried before transferring or sewing together anything, so that variable shrinkage isn’t an issue. Use graph paper or a hand-doodled template to chart out what photos you have, and how you want them placed on the quilt, if you do not have one photo for each quilt square. You’ll want to transfer photos onto plain (“quilting cotton” is best) fabrics, but other squares can be in any combination of fabrics you like. If you choose any sheer fabrics, fuse them onto the base of another fabric before cutting your squares, for a better appearance, a stronger outcome, and easier time sewing.

Another option is to arrange things so that each photo-square has at least one corresponding square of plain fabric, on which associated memories can be written in fabric pens (which are available in a fine-point variety almost exactly like ballpoint pens, for ease of writing normally). Consider taking advantage of remnant bins and dollar bins for great discounts on smaller pieces of holiday fabrics that can be turned into several squares each.

If you are aiming for a traditional quilt and are unsure how best to join the squares for the top of the quilt, you can easily find instructions online. Layer the finished top of the quilt over sheet batting (which comes in cotton and synthetic varieties) and the bottom sheet of fabric, and at each square corner or each corner of a set-of-four-squares, tack all the layers together with an X of embroidery floss, strong button thread, or if you like, an actual, thematically-chosen button. At the end, finish your edges with quilt edging (also pre-washed and dried) or satin baby blanket binding. Another option is to use, especially if you’ve chosen simpler fabrics for the quilt itself, is to get fabric holiday ribbon (non-wired), iron a crease into it, and use it as hem tape.