Doll Quilts

When the shelves begin to fill with bed quilts and you're not ready to give up quilting, what do you turn to? Doll quilts, of course; they take up very little room. I like to make my doll quilts by patterns used for big quilts if I can draft them down into the smaller size without making the pieces and blocks too small. I don't usually make miniature ones (less than 12 inches square) but rather in the size range of 15" x 15". I think these are referred to as "little quilts".

This is an example of one made by the Shoo Fly pattern, and measures approximately 13 1/2" x 17"; block size 4 1/2" x 4 1/2". The pattern came from the book American Doll Quilts, by Kathleen Tracy. Quilting doesn't need to be as close on these or else they become too stiff to drape nicely.









The idea for this little quilt came from the same book and is called the Prairie Quilt, because, "...fabric was scarce and quilters used up every scrap they could find..." I wrote a little story to go with this quilt and gave it to one of my handmade dolls. It looked very plain until the bright blue binding was added and it was just the spark it needed.

This pattern I simply took from the book, A Quilter's Companion, put it into the copier and reduced it to fit a 4" block. It is an old pattern called "Recollect and Remember". The little figures are hand appliqued with the blanket stitch. I gave it to Brandie.

I'll share more doll quilts with you later. They're lots of fun to work with and nice to place around the house.

Charlotte

Ps. 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!