Baby Life Quilt

hey there, Vanessa from V and Co. here.
i've had this quilt bouncing around in my head for quite some time. so when i saw the "make life" line by sweetwater, i instantly knew that this quilt needed to be made out of this line.
it seems like everywhere i turn someone is announcing that they are pregnant or that they just found out what they are having. with just one layer cake i was able to make two completely different color scheme quilts, and i still have some left that i'm working with (another tutorial in the works with the leftovers!)

shall we get started?

1 make life layer cake.
for each quilt:
1 1/4 yards of background fabric (shown are:5424 20 Apple and 5424 24 Earth )
1 1/2 yards fabric for back (used but now shown: 5421 25 Ocean, and 5421 22 Apple
1/2 yard of fabric for binding (5424 19 Ocean and 5424 11 Apple)
pattern for words (get pdf here)
heat and bond


cut your background fabric to measure 38 by 36 inches.
you will need to print out the letters pdf file. and gather up a few squares you would like to use as your letters. i chose to use the solid color squares but you can use whichever you would like.
next i traced onto my heat and bond the letters that i needed.


cut out your letters but leaving a little paper around each letter. (it makes for cutting the letter out easier i think)
iron onto the wrong side of your fabric. (make sure you utilize your fabric and try to use as little fabric as possible by starting in the corner.)

cut out your letters.
(with paper still on the back) see where you would like to place your words. make sure they are straight by using a ruler.
i measured 3 1/2 inches from the bottom and left side of my fabric as the place where i wanted my last word to be.
i then placed my words up from there.
take off the paper from the back and when you have the placement of where you want the letters, iron them down onto your fabric.
**to secure your letters either zig zag or blanket stitch around your letters. when i do this i like to use clear thread.
(i didn't on these quilts knowing that these were just going to be "for show" quilts)
i then took the rest of my squares. i picked out the ones i wanted to be in my border.
cut out strips with widths of 1 1/2 inches. i did make them different lengths because i wanted a scrappy look.

i then sewed my strips together so they measured 1 1/2 by 38 inches.


and then sewed them to the left and right of my main panel.
the top and bottom scrappy border should measure 1 1/2 by 38

next you are going to cut out two strips of your remaining background fabric to 2 by 40 inches.
this will be your left and right outer border.
your top and bottom border will measure 2 by 41 inches


sew them on to the top and bottom.
your finished quilt top will measure 40 by 41 inches.
when you are ready to bind your quilt, i have a binding tutorial on my blog: check it out here

two quilts with the capability of making a few more...or wait and see what i do with the rest of it. tutorial coming soon to my blog.
now your baby, or your friend's baby can have a totally cute mod baby quilt and the color combos are endless with this line!

thanks! and can't wait to show you what i do with the rest of scraps!
tutorial and pictures brought to you by V and Co.