Tips for a "Hug" Quilt of sorts.

Almost all my quilts (Lap/nap size) are for charity, so cost counts, so I buy 30 yd 4 ounce polyester from JoAnnes, for half price, about dollar a yard. I don't really like the cotton batting, the quilting has to be a lot closer, and when finished is like a blanket, heavy and no fluff. Flannel would be great for someone having chemo. I understand every thing gets sensitive and hurts. Edging a print fleece would work too, they are so soft. Kayfl

I have used Quiter's Dream "Puff" for a quilt, and it machined quilted just fine........not sure about hand quilting, but it was very soft and puffy. Seems to me a flannel back might be great..........

Pat "Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid becomes easy."

bamboo is really soft, even with regular fabrics on the outside...

Anne

Did you catch the post about the Hug quilt we made? It's here at:

's a link under the photo links to "what we did" for my suggestions. This project went together beautifully with a minimum number of glitches, with great results: finished size is about 48" x 60". We tied [see "what we did" above for why we tied instead of quilted it], used flannel for the back and warm-and-natural for batting. It's a perfect weight: nice and warm and cozy without being bulky for dragging into the car and into chemo. It's being well used, and well loved.

Cut the squares for the people who will sign it. Iron freezer paper to the back of each one to make it stiff enough to sign easily. Somehow cover the seam allowance to make sure they don't write all the way to the edge (a square of freezer paper on the front with a "window" is one idea, tacking around the seam allowance with contrasting thread is another). It seems so obvious to us not to write in the seam allowance but most people are non-sewers and they just don't know, any more than I know thing-one about welding iron. Give them the pen to sign with and emphasise they must use this pen and only this one, otherwise they will use a felt tip or a ballpoint they found in their kitchen drawer. If anyone doesn't sign firmly enough, feel free to go over their signature yourself to make it stand out more.

Keep it simple. The quicker you can finish this quilt and give it to her, the better. She will appreciate very much the thoughtfulness of all her friends. She will not appreciate the tiny applique or the painstaking feather quilting. Save that for when you make a quilt for me :-)

I work with a group that makes quilts for patients getting chemo regularly. Our official guidelines say that the batting is up to the quiltmaker. We're strict, however, that the back should be pre-shrunk flannel-- or something softer. Chemo patients get skin so dry that the nicest cotton can feel like sandpaper. A poly blend is nice because it is so lightweight. Same reasoning. You want something very warm and very light.

--Lia

Sherry wrote:

A lot of people find that cotton battings are easier to machine quilt because they naturally stick to the fabric a bit more than poly does. Thicker batts are "fluffier", but also harder to work with. The Warm'n'Natural battings can be quilted 8" apart and the Hobbs 80/20 says

3-1/2". Really close quilting tends to make things feel stiffer. I think the Hobbs feels a bit softer than the Warm'n'Natural. If you want softness, use a flannel back (prewashed, of course).

Julia in MN

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Sherry wrote:

The Pink Ribbon Hug that I recently made is about 60" square. Front and back are both pieced, including some lovely fabric from my RCTQ buddies! I used Quilters Dream Poly Select Batting. Reasons: it is soft, washes and dries quickly, folds small to carry in a tote, and .... ta-da!.... it comes from right here in the Old Dominion, over in Virginia Beach! NAYYY!.

PAT in Virginia, USA

A fluffy biscuit couch quilt sounds nice.