Tuesday 2 August 2016

Robot Quilt

Today I am very happy to show you the Robot Quilt - nine wonky log cabin style blocks, each with a robot appliqué in the centre. It's an understatement to say I am thrilled with how this quilt came together. 

Make a robot quilt for a young boy. Download the nine free robot appliqué templates to make your own robot quilt. Tutorial by Threading My Way


The nine robot appliqués each represent a different job or occupation... mechanic, brick layer, waiter, stay at home parent, artist, chef, fireman, gardener and cleaner. They were all designed and drawn by my youngest son. Aren't they fabulous!!!

Robot Appliquéd Quilt... how to make one ~ Threading My Way

The PDF files are free for you to download...

There are more details re downloading and close up pics of the appliqués in this post... nine free Robot Appliqué Templates.


How to Appliqué Robot Templates... prepping ~ Threading My Way

After the robot templates are downloaded, it's time to start cutting and appliquéing. The blue fabric the robots are fused to is cut to 8" x 11". For detailed instructions on how to prepare the shapes and fuse them to the blue backing fabric, see my post How to Appliqué ~ Preparing Shapes and Fusing to Base Fabric


How to Appliqué Robot templates... scribbly stitching ~ Threading My Way

Once the robots are fused to the fabric, they need to be stitched to keep them permanently in place. I chose to sew scribbly stitching around each robot. How to Appliqué with Scribbly Stitching will show you how I did mine. 


Wonky Log Cabin style blocks on a Robot Appliquéd Quilt ~ Threading My Way

Wonky log cabin style blocks were created to build up the blocks. I used a jelly roll of Juggling Summer, by Zen Chic for Moda. Scrappy would work well, too.

My Scrappy Blocks quilt shows how to join strips in a wonky fashion. They're not log cabin blocks, but the process is the same. To make log cabin blocks...
  • sew a strip to side 1
  • sew a strip to side 2
  • sew a strip to side 3
  • sew a strip to side 4
  • repeat till you have the desired size

I trimmed my blocks to 16½" x 12½".

Robot Appliquéd Quilt... how to make one ~ Threading My Way

To finish the quilt top...
  • add sashing between the blocks - blue fabric cut to 1½"
  • add an extra strip top and bottom - dark fabric cut to 2½"
  • add borders - red - side borders cut to 2½", top and bottom borders cut to 6½"

The finished quilt measures 64" x 45".


Little Mister is fascinated with letters and numbers. It's a little hard to see, but the backing fabric - Urban Keys, by Camelot Cottons - is covered with letters and numbers. I could tell by the look on his face that he approved.


I've done straight line quilting of varying widths - quite close together on the border, but further apart elsewhere. Around each robot, I added some free motion quilting. Because it was on top of the scribbly stitching I'd already sewn, you can't tell that the length of the FMQ stitches are not at all consistent. The patterned fabric hides this on the back, too.

I did think of doing the straight line stitching through the appliqués, but was unsure as to whether this would detract from the robots or not, so I played it safe. What do you think?

This is my first time doing a scrappy binding, using left overs of the Juggling Summer jelly roll, and given the style of the quilt, I think it works well. The binding is machine sewn, attaching to the front first, then stitching in the ditch on the front, to secure at the back.

Make a robot quilt for a young boy. Download the nine free robot appliqué templates to make your own robot quilt. Tutorial by Threading My Way

Little Mister is getting to the age where he is quite definite about his likes and dislikes. And if he doesn't like something, forget it - no amount of talking will persuade him to use the item. Thankfully he likes his new quilt. The fact that he wanted it on his bed that night speaks volumes. 

The robot quilt is special to me because it was a collaboration with my youngest son. Little Mister is used to me sewing for him, but he was most impressed that his uncle had drawn the robots for him.

When I called in today, there were three quilts, layered largest to smallest, on top of Little Mister's bed - robot quilt, Peter Rabbit quilt and topped off with the Peter Rabbit doll quilt. You can imagine how that made me feel.

... Pam


20 comments:

  1. How sweet and personal. I love it.

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  2. WOW. I'm in awe of this quilt--it is fantastic and a work of art! I too would not have put the straight stitching through the applique. It looks fabulous just the way you did it Pam.

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  3. Your robot quilt is very cute, Pam:)

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  4. It came out beautifully! Love the line quilting around the edges, too.

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  5. Such a gorgeous quilt Pam - and so special to have designs drawn by one family member and the quilt made by another. That's one lucky little boy to have this quilt!!

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  6. We love our quilt!! It looks great in his bedroom.

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  7. FAN-ROBOTIC-TASTIC! And a happy recipient - now THAT is a win :) The robots are adorable, and I think you did a great job putting everything together :) I've been working on some scrappy binding myself - making it as I get the right colour scraps (it's for a future fall quilt, so the colours are all fall inspired). It's a great way to use up scraps and co-ordinate to a project :)

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  8. Yay! This is such a great finish for you! I remember when you were working on those applique blocks. I bet it feels great to get this one completed. Great job!

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  9. What an amazing thing to do for your son! Each block is so adorable and the quilt is just amazing. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thanks so much, Kathi. Our robot quilt is now well loved by Little Mister.

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  10. What a wonderful colaboration between you and your son. Gorgeous!

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  11. Pam, this is darling! I love the little robots in different occupational garb. So much personality. I'm sure your son will love it!

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  12. My "little mister" is 23 and has been going through a tough time. He just broke up with his first serious girlfriend and has been heart sore. His comfort since he lives far enough from home that we don't see him often,"I'm all wrapped up in my quilt. It makes me feel like I'm surrounded by Mom's love." That and he teddy bear he has had since he was a baby helped give him the love we couldn't be there to give him during a really tough week. Aren't quilts amazing in what they do for those we love.

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    1. That is beautiful, Sarah!!! It must have made you feel warm inside to hear your son's words.

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  13. Thanks for sharing this on DIY-Crush! I'm just getting interested in quilting, and I already love appliqué. This is so quirky, i love it.

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  14. Wonderful quilt - your quilting is beautiful, and Little Mister's reaction is perfect - the real reason we all quilt! Whoop whoop!!

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  15. I watched the progress of this quilt Pam and I've gotta hand it to you, it's a real work of art. You should be really proud of it. Well done! Thank you so much for linking up your post to Thriving on Thursdays. I'm featuring it tomorrow at the party.

    Anne xx

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  16. That is a lot of careful work. I highly respect those who know how to do needle work. Beautiful.

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    1. Thanks, Maria. It did take a long time, but well worth it.

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