Make a ‘Memory Quilt’ From Your Kid’s Baby Clothes

It is very difficult for me to say goodbye some of my favourite outfits my son wore as a baby or toddler. I have had no problem selling, handing down or donating any number of his old toys, puzzles or books over the years, but that little camouflage sleeper? Or the shirt with the big 2 that he wore on his second birthday? Those I can’t bring myself to part with — and so they sit tucked away in a plastic bin in my basement, serving absolutely no purpose.

But a friend of mine decided that storing a stack of favourite baby clothes, blankets and bibs away for an indefinite amount of time was too much of a waste of memories. A quilt made of those items, though, would mean many more years of enjoying them. Behold, the entirety of her daughter’s new quilt:

The quilt is made from all sorts of outfits that had special meaning or were worn during certain milestones, including coming home from the hospital, her newborn photoshoot, her first Christmas and birthday, and her first school picture day. Even the quilt’s edging is made from a crib sheet her daughter, who is now 10 years old, used for years.

There are lots of different style variations to consider when making one of these quilts. As you can see in the picture above, my friend’s quilt features small sections of many outfits, blankets and other fabrics in a collage style. But I’ve also seen quilts in which entire pieces of clothing or bibs are featured, or quilts that have more of a traditional block pattern with borders around each individual fabric.

If you’re handy with a sewing machine (or you are up for a new challenge), you could make the quilt yourself. There are lots of online tutorials for creating your own memory quilt — here’s a good one from Suzy Quilts and another on YouTube, if you’re more of a visual learner:

If you’re not feeling up to making it yourself (nor am I), there are plenty of Etsy shops that specialise in these kinds of projects. Or, you can do like my friend did and find a local seamstress in your area who is looking for extra projects to take on. That is probably a more affordable option (at least it was in her case), and it would save you the hassle and extra cost of shipping all the items to the shop owner.