• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Polka Dot Chair logo

  • SEWING
    • Free Sewing Patterns
    • Bag Sewing Patterns
    • Costumes Sewing Tutorials
    • Apparel Sewing Patterns
    • Learn to Sew
    • Beginner Friendly Sewing Projects
    • Hand Embroidery Patterns
    • Tips & Techniques
    • All Sewing
  • QUILTING
    • Quilt Block Patterns
    • Learn to Quilt
    • Free Quilt Patterns
    • Quilt Patterns
    • All Quilting
  • CRAFTS
    • Disney
    • Cricut
    • Printables
    • All Crafts
  • HOLIDAYS
    • Seasonal Projects
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Easter
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • All Holidays
  • TUTORIALS
  • ABOUT
    • About Me
    • My Fabric Collections
    • Published Books
    • Press
    • FAQ’s
    • Contact
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • SHOP
menu icon
go to homepage
  • SHOP
  • TUTORIALS
  • SEWING
  • QUILTING
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • CRAFTS
  • HOLIDAY PROJECTS
  • ABOUT
    • Published Books
    • My Fabric Collections
  • CONTACT
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • SHOP
    • TUTORIALS
    • SEWING
    • QUILTING
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • CRAFTS
    • HOLIDAY PROJECTS
    • ABOUT
      • Published Books
      • My Fabric Collections
    • CONTACT
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Quilt Alongs

    Handmade Christmas Quilt Along: Cutting Part 2

    Updated: May 29, 2014 by Melissa Mortenson · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 4 Comments

    I was going to post about the Quilt Along on Wednesday this week, but I got the post written early and decided to go ahead and post it today instead.  This week is our Fall Break and I won’t be at the computer much— If you want, you can stalk me on my facebook page, I’ll be updating that this week—


    if you have questions about the Quilt Along, leave them as comments in this post and I’ll answer them all next week in a FAQ Post…

    Today I’m going to talk about part 2 of cutting out your quilt for the Handmade Christmas Quilt Along. If your new here, here’s the scoop.

    I’m making a snugly lap quilt for each of my kids for Christmas this year. (I have 3 kids) To keep me on track (and to hopefully avoid a late December rush) I’m blogging about my progress on the quilts and inviting anyone that would like to play along.   The goal of this Quilt Along is to make a Quilt for someone you love this Christmas (or other Winter Holiday). You don’t need to follow my steps. But if you want to, I’m showing how to make each of my 3 quilts.  If you’ve already got a project your working on then jump in! Or feel free to do the same thing I am doing here-

    Just a note, these are snugly drag around quilts, not show pieces—- I’ve designed them mostly based on the fabric… (i.e. it reminds me of my kids)… think of them as giant I Spy quilts.

    So now, on to my son’s quilt.

    I started with this stack of fabric:

    You can see from the sketch above how I started. I figured the size I wanted the finished quilt (just smaller than  of 2 yrs of 60″ wide fabric).  Next I decided how may rows I wanted (4). Then I figured out how wide I wanted each row to be (in this case I guess they are columns since they run up and down,  but I’m calling them rows).   I decided on 14″ wide, since this will allow me 3 cuts per 42″ of fabric (42/3 = 14).

    I decided to stagger the sizes of the strips, I went with 2″, 3″ & 4″. Since you lose ½″ in seam allowance, I ended up with 1.5″, 2.5″ & 3.5″ strips (after they are sewn). Assuming an equal number of each size of strips in each row, that told me that I needed 36 of each size strip in each row.  Since I can get 3 strips per 42″ cut- I need to cut 12 EACH of my 3 sizes of strips.

    I did not cut all of the same fabric all the same size. For example, in the cars print you see below, I cut 4″ strips and 2″ strips… just to mix it up.

    I am NOT going to cut them down to 14″ yet- I’m going to make cheater blocks— i.e. sew several 42″ wide pieces together lengthwise then cut them down to 14″ wide…. (if you are lost, don’t worry, I’ll show you about this when we get to the piecing posts).

    I cut my strips and separated them in piles. I cut extras of the 2″ strips because they will be helpful to if one of my rows is too short–

    To sum up, if you are making this quilt you will need:
    of various prints:
    12 strips 2″ x 42″ (or the width of your fabric)
    12 strips 3″ x 42″
    12 strips 4″ x 42″
    2 yards 60″ wide fabric for backing

    Just a little tip: I like to keep my projects together in bins. I put all of my cut pieces back in the bin along with the sketch I did.

    Next time I’ll talk about how I’m making my 3rd quilt— it’s a bit more involved than the other two.

    So— keep cutting!! We’ll start piecing in November!

    Handmade Christmas Quilt Along

    Other Quilt Along Posts:

    Quilt Along

    Fabric

    Step One

    Design

    Start Cutting

    Cutting Part 2

    Start Sewing

    Backing And Batting

    Progress Report

    Machine Quilting

    Last Update

    Finished Quilts

    Patchwork Quilt

    More Projects You May Enjoy

    • cover of all ears pouch sewing pattern with cat, bunny and mouse zip bags
      New! All Ears Pouch Pattern & Sew Along
    • quilt and quilt supplies on white cutting mat
      The Heart of Hearts Quilt Along
    • flat lay of colorful fabric, sewing supplies and pattern on white cutting mat
      Join Us for the 2023 Quilt Along; The Starlight Sparkler Quilt
    • pink heart quilt in front of colorful wall
      The All the Hearts Quilt Pattern

    • Share
    • Email

    About Author

    Melissa Mortenson

    Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer, and content creator. She is the Polka Dot Chair blog founder and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Actually Love.” Her work and designs have been featured on HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens, and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs.  Additional fabric collections have followed it in subsequent years. A mom of 3, she considers herself lucky to be living in Kentucky.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Carla says

      October 17, 2011 at 9:09 am

      Thanks for sharing how you work out the pattern. Those are going to be some very loved quilts!

      Reply
    2. sonia says

      October 17, 2011 at 3:24 pm

      You look everything seem easy. I hope mine turn up as beautifully as yours. Thanks

      Reply
    3. toots2u says

      October 17, 2011 at 6:31 pm

      do you think it is necessary to use batting with the Snuggles? i live in Northern California; it certainly gets cold but not super cold… we get snow maybe once every couple years. I was thinking of not using the batting.i do want a fluffy quilt though.

      Reply
    4. Camille and Luke says

      October 17, 2011 at 10:24 pm

      I love your fabric! I’m having my first in December and I’m having such a hard time finding cute boy fabrics! May I ask where you bought it? Or where you’ve gotten some?? Thanks!!!!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hello! It’s nice to meet you.

    I’m Melissa. I like to design things, like fabric, printables, and projects.

    I’m also a Mom and a Maker. I am like most of you, just trying to do my best every day. Some days I succeed, many days I fail.  I find joy in creating, if you do too, then I hope that you find something here bring a little “happy” to your life.  Find out more about me here.

    COPYRIGHT POLICY

    All my images and text are copyrighted. You may NOT use any images from this site in any kind of Video (this includes YouTube). If you would like to feature my work, you may use ONE (1) NON-COLLAGED image and must “follow” link back to my original blog post. You may NOT edit, crop, or change my images in any way without written permission. You MAY NOT print out or copy and distribute any text, images or patterns from this site. All patterns, content, instructions, and templates are for personal use ONLY! Thank you! Violators will be reported.

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimers
    • About Melissa
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Press
    • Published Books
    • Fabric Collections

    Welcome to the Polka Dot Chair! Here you’ll find easy, step-by-step, sewing, quilting, and crafting projects. We design projects for Makers of all skill levels. Beginners are welcome!

    DISCLAIMER:

    While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content on this website, the information is made available without warranty of any kind. The Polka Dot Chair accepts no responsibility or liability, whether direct or indirect, as to the currency or accuracy of the information, nor any consequence of its uses. This website is not intended to substitute the advice of a professional.

    Copyright © 2022 Polka Dot Chair

    [ Placeholder content for popup link ] WordPress Download Manager - Best Download Management Plugin