The mini quilts are finished

Hello. I've been a busy little bee. The large quilt has been turned into nine smaller pet quilts. Each one is 2 feet square. I used a quilt cover which was given to me, one of my own well used covers, and the bottom right is from a pair of curtains I got from the charity shop for £1. You might recognize the fabric, I have already made some shopping bags out of it, and there is still a bit more left for two more bags. These can be thrown in the washer when they get a bit grubby. The original quilt was 40 tog, a lightweight summer quilt. 

If anyone wants to do this, I've made a diagram on how I cut the quilt up. First you need to lay it out on the floor, and decide how big or small you want your finished mini quilts to be. I divided mine into nine equal squares, you may want to go bigger or smaller, or your quilt may not be square like mine. You need a felt tip pen and a long stick to mark out the smaller squares. I have a 2 foot long clear plastic ruler, which I find very useful.

The dotted lines are the sewing lines, the solid lines are the cutting lines. You need to sew before you cut, not the other way round, that's important. I made two lines (dotted lines) by marking each side of the ruler, then sewing down those lines. You could draw one line, and sew up each side of it. Either way will work, as long as your cutting line is between two sewing lines.

Don't worry if it puckers, no one will see it as it will be enclosed inside the cover. The edges will look raggy also, and it may not be a perfect square. It doesn't matter.

Now you can use your smaller squares as a pattern to mark out your fabric for covering them. I have found a use for my redundant bed, ha ha, it makes a perfect platform for cutting out large pieces. I can cut something simple like this without measuring. I lay the square on top of the fabric along one side leaving an inch seam allowance. Then I cut along the opposite edge, again with a one inch seam allowance. Then I move the square further along and continue cutting until I have a long piece, enough for two sides, with a seam allowance. Fold it in half and sew up two edges right side in, to make a pocket. Turn it the right way. Slide the square inside and fit it into the corners, pin to keep it in place. Close up the open end by tucking the selvage edges inside, and sew along close to the edge. Finish by running the machine across it a few times. 

The chequered ones I made are being used, I gave them to Janet for the two chairs she has in her conservatory. This is Mr Beasley.

And this is Bertie.

I hope the instructions are ok, the mini quilts don't have to be perfect. The cats don't know they are wrinkled and puckered, ha ha.

It's been a lovely day today, I've had the mower out and hopefully that will be the last cut of the year. Thanks for popping in. Catch you soon.
Toodle pip