I’ve been working for a long time on this puff quilt, I started it around Christmas time and it just kept getting pushed to the side. When we were little we had this great bubble quilt that our grandma made us, and I wanted to make one for Ada. I only vaguely remembered what it looked like, so my puffs are much bigger, but it turned out great and Ada loves squishing the colorful puffs! I made a practice puff a while ago for my Puff Pin Cushion and kept the same dimensions.
I finally finished making an alternative method for making a bubble quilt, You sew the entire top together before you stuff the puffs! Check out the new tutorial here!
Check out my newest finished bubble quilts!
Here are some other bubble quilts!
The size I made is a little strange, it’s quite long and narrow, so for now we just play with it on the floor, but I’m thinking it would look amazing at the foot of her bed when we eventually turn it to a toddler bed.
Materials (for the size I made which was about 24×44 without the ruffle):
16 different colors of scrap fabric (if you want to do the rainbow)
1 yard cheap crappy fabric for the base of the puffs (you won’t be able to see them)
1 yard minky
1 1/2 yard silky fabric for the ruffle
Some poly-fil
Step 1: Pick out a bunch of scrap fabrics that you like.
Step 2: So for my blanket, I cut 7″x7″ squares for my bubbles, but they ended up being quite difficult to work with at the end since they were so big. I’d recommend making them 6″x6″ instead. So out of your fabrics cut out your squares and arrange them to your liking with 11 on the long side and 6 on the short side, so you end up with 66 total squares.
Step 4: Lay out your puffs in the arrangement you want and then take to, pin one of the edges together and sew. I used a zipper foot because it enabled me to get the seam closer.
Step 5: Make a ruffle to go around your blanket. I didn’t show the steps to making a ruffle, but you can look here to learn how to make one. I cut six strips out of my silky fabric that were each 8″ wide. Then I followed the same steps. Cut our your minky to the size of your bubble top. Pin your ruffle on to the correct side of the minky with the ruffle going in toward the center and then sew it in place.
This is amazing!! It’s going to be my first sewing project and I’m so excited! Is there any reason I can’t use and old bed sheet for the smaller squares? I’m on a tight budget. Thanks!!!
I would totally use an old bed sheet for the backing squares. That’s a great idea, I love being thrifty! Good luck!
Ever consider selling them?
I do sell some in my etsy shop! I also do custom orders if you have something specific in mind!
how/ where could I buy one? Jeremylisa3@ yahoo. com thanks
Lisa, I have a few for sale in my etsy shop right now and I also take custom orders!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AwaitingAda
Thanks!
Skyler
Is it safe to wash once completed? I would hate to do all that work and then wash it and the stuffing become all displaced…
I do wash mine in the washer and dryer, but I use the most delicate cycle and wash them separately and n the dryer I use the air dry setting.
Love it!!
What measurement did u use on all ur seams for the mini bubbles? Would u still advise using a zipper foot for them? In ur opinion witch is better to make for an infant? Like softer and bubbles not making the child unbalanced?
I used a 1/4″ seam on my seams for the mini bubbles and I would still recommend using a zipper foot if you’ve got one. I my opinion, I think that the mini bubble blanket might be easier for little baby to balance on, but I’m not really sure. It probably depends mostly on how full you stuff the puffs, if they’re really full and stiff, they’re be harder to balance on. Happy sewing!
I’ve made one for my nephew and his mother LOVED it! Thanks for this great idea! Now my boyfriends wants me to make him a pillow case like this! So I’m attempting that next!
I made a pillow cover years ago and always meant to make a blanket. I think your shape would make a great slumber mat for my grandson, he doesn’t like being put to bed to nap, but I think he’d like this. Thanks for the great idea!
I love this. What kind of fabric did you use? 100% cotton?
Yep! However, one of the people who used my tutorial sent me a picture of one they made out of all minky fabrics. I turned out super cute!
Hi im really new at sewing so i hope you dont mind me asking but whats minky?
Do you think this would be a hard project for a person new to sewing?
Thanks for your time!
Hi! Minky is just super soft and fuzzy fabric (it feels kind of like a cuddly stuffed animal). At Joann’s they call it soft n’ cuddly, or something like that. You can use anything you want for the back, I just like minky because it’s so soft! I would say that this is a somewhat ambitious project for a beginner sewer, but not out of the realm of possibility. My friend is a first time sewer and is making one for her daughter. Just be prepared for it to take you quite a while to complete! Happy sewing!!
Hello, I am new at sewing (I actually got the sewing machine to make this) and just finished the bubble blanket. It is not an easy project for a first time sewer, but it is not impossible either. Just be prepared to have a couple of grumpy, frustrated, and tearful days. Once you are done, you will be so happy to see an awesome blanket. It makes me so happy to see my 8 month old daughter play and nap on it (oh, my dog love it too). Happy sewing:)
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I just finished my first bubble quilt and I love it. I wanted to comment though on the materials list. I am a newbie (haven’t sewn in 25 years) I purchased 1 1/2 yards of silky fabric for the ruffle and spent 4 hours sewing and gathering………….my Mom looked at my bag full of ruffle and just shook her head
She proceeded to cut it in half (killed me after all that work) and show me how to attach to the minky. So maybe you could just list it as “1/2 yard” of silky and save someone else the grief I went through gathering all that fabric. I am starting on my second bubble quilt today and will try the “sew one row, stuff one row method” as mentioned in another comment. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for your wonderful tutorial and photos. Christi
I also have not sewed in 25 years (since middle school home ec. class ~ which come to find out our teacher always had the sewing machines set up for us, needles threaded, bobbins wound and also threaded. My sister in law is expecting a baby in April. I stumpled on this and instantly NEEDED to make it. So I had to go shopping for a sewing machine and all materials. I ended up getting a used machine off facebook, but knew nothing about it.It has taken me a little while to get used to the machine and sewing period!! But I see the progress and I am loving the fact that (even thought it is not perfect with my ability to sew nicely yet) NO ONE will actually see my beginning stitch marks!! hehe! but also that I created this for my niece. I want to thank you so much for setting up this tutorial to be able to make someone homemade to my niece when she gets here. ps~ I am using my scrapes in a way small pattern to make a pillow case for her when she outgrows the blanket!!
I’m so glad you like the tutorial and are able to make something special for your niece to be! Happy sewing!
I’m glad you like the tutorial, thanks for visiting! I’m sorry to hear of your ruffle woes! I only know how to make them the one way, so if your mom knows a easy way, I’d love to hear it! Have fun with your second quilt (mine went WAY faster than my first one!).
Have you tied a ruffle foot? It’s an AH-MAZING little gadget… They don’t really come with instructions but here is a link to and “e-book” another women created to help with the understanding of the device. I LOVE mine, what normally would have taken me 2 hours to do, I did in 3 minutes… FANTASTIC! I can’t wait for my fabric order to be in so I can make this quilt for my 15 month old
http://www.youcanmakethis.com/products/free/free-the-ruffler-unruffled.htm
I do have a ruffler foot (2 actually)! They really are the best invention ever
Thanks for the manual though, I’ve just been winging it so far!
you are realy great children’s magician!!!) cool!
I will try to persuade my wife to do the same!)
For my second bubble quilt I did the “sew a row, stuff a row method” and it was a joy to put together. I also made the first one 11 rows of 8 puffs and the second one 11 rows of 9 puffs. I really like the second one’s size the best. I LOVE these quilts
I am curious of the price of your bubble quilts in your etsy shop. It says $225 but after reading this blog on the how to, it seems very inexpensive to make considering you could use any kind of fabric for the backing & the bubbles are just scraps so I was curious if that is the correct price. Thank you for your feedback.
Jessica,
Here’s a rough breakdown of price for you of the $225 bubble quilt for sale in my shop:
fabric for bubbles: 16 fat quarters is about $32
fabric for back of bubbles: about 1 1/2 yard = $5
fabric for backing: 1 yard = $15
fabric for ruffle: 1 1/2 yard = $10
polyfil: $5
add all that up and you get $67 + tax on all the materials and we’re at about $70+
The real cost is the time. I spent about 20 hours on that blanket so if you take $225-$70=$155. $155/20hrs=$7.75 and hour. So I make under $8 an hour and that doesn’t include the percentages that etsy takes. So yes, the blanket itself doesn’t cost very much to make, but it is very time consuming. Also, you can make the blanket with scraps and cheaper materials, but for the ones I sell in my shop I use high quality fabric that will last, so it is more expensive. Hope that helps,
Skyler
Wow the nerve of you. It’s an art is what she does and didn’t even have to take the time to share with us at all. Go ahead you try and see how easy and cheap you can make it. That was just wrong. That’s like why would you buy a bottle of water when you can get it free.
I wanna know where she (awaiting ada)shops. Because so far I have spent $100, not including minke or ruffle yet
I buy most of my stuff at Joann’s with coupons or wait for them to go on sale and then I buy my minky and some fabric online wholesale.
It was just a question, not rude any way what so ever because Idk alot about sewing & didn’t know how long or how difficult it was to make. so I was trying to get some knowledge for myself. Instead of assuming that I was intentionally trying to be rude or hateful maybe you should keep your own rude & nasty comments to yourself!! Have a lovely day & god bless!
Hey, I was just wondering…i love this quilt, patterns and all. But if I were to go buy the fabric for the puffs, how much fabric should I get per color? And where is a good place to get these fabrics? I am a newbie. Lol
Natasha, I’m glad you like the quilt! You would need a quarter yard of each (or you can buy fat quarters, it doesn’t matter). This however will make it so you have quite a few leftovers from the colors that you only need one or two bubbles from, which is why I ended up using some scraps! Hope that helps! Happy sewing!
Okay thanks! A friend and I intend to try and make one each like this one you have posted. Now our ideas for the scraps was to just have wherever cut them to the 7″x7″…now idk if they will cut to those dimensions and if they can price it that way. But it would save a lot of time. Also ive heard fabric stores normally have scraps that they sell for cheap, so price wise im hoping not to spend more than $30 on it.
Also, if we chose to do only two different colored puffs, would you get a 1/2yd for each color?
Natasha, I really recommend cutting your top squares to be 6×6 instead of 7×7. It’s a lot easier to work with, and I think it looks better too! If you just do two fabrics and cut the top squares to be 6×6, then you would need 5/8 of a yard for each assuming the fabrics are 42″ wide. You may want to splurge a bit and go for 3/4 of a yard just to be safe. Hope that helps. Have fun!
I am almost done with my version of this quilt as a comforter for my daughter’s toddler bed, and I love it! I had never seen this type of quilt before, and I decided to attempt it. This is my first sewing project ever, and I am so excited about it. Thank you so much for sharing this tutorial. I will send you a picture of the finished product–it’s darling!
That sounds awesome! I can’t believe you tackled a comforter for your first sewing project, that’s amazing! I would for you to email me a picture when it’s finished
Could you sew all the way around the squares not leaving a corner open. Sew all the squares needed for the complete quilt together. Make a small slit with an exact o knife in the center on the inside of the small material. Fill the squares with stuffing and close the hole with iron on fabric material patches? It seems like it would be easier to sew the squares before you put the material in. Because you are covering the backside of the squares with material the patch would not show.
Henry, Yep I do that now for all my bubble blankets (except I hand sew the openings closed instead of using a iron on patch thing). I’ve posted about it in my new and improved tutorial It works much better!
What about filling some of the bubbles with crinkly things and others with beads..and I am sure there are other things..so that way the child would have different things to feel..maybe even a squeaky toy or is that detrimental? Oh and my bf just sat down and said that was a neat idea and maybe make those puffs with a bit of velcro so you can take those items out before washing.
I’ve had someone else tell me that before and I think it’s a great idea! I however am nervous about what I should put inside because of the washing machine. Making puffs that velcro on and off is an awesome idea! Tell your bf he just might be a genius!
If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Thanks so much for the tutorial. It really was a great motivator and my first bubble quilt is complete. I look forward to making more in the future. Thanks a million!
I’m so glad you like the tutorial! It’s always nice to hear that others have made their own cute bubble blankets!
i am a strictly a scrap quilter. i enjoy makig quilts all hand sewn and hand quilted. i am going to tackle this one for my 26 year old daughter who has fell in love with a puff quilt and has told me she wants one for her queen sized bed. yes, i said…queen sized bed. so ya’ll when it is finished, however long it takes me, i will post it. she wants all black and white scraps.i am planning instead of the ruffle though to use lace and attach it after the quilt is completely finished…so it will be too cute!
Kath,
That sounds beautiful, I love black and white! You have one lucky daughter! I would for you to send me some pictures when you finish. Also, if you’re interested, I posted some tips for making large bubble quilts:
http://www.awaitingada.com/2013/03/tips-for-sewing-a-large-bubblebiscuit-quilt.html
If the link doesn’t work, just go to the bubble quilts page on the left side bar and you’ll see the link. Have fun!!!
So does the 4.5″X4.5″ measurement go with the 7″X7″ that you used, or the 6″ recommended?
It goes with the 6″. So you cut your base squares to be 4.5×4.5 and your top squares to be 6×6 inches. Hope that helps!
My wonderful sister-in-law just sent me a link to this project and I’m totally intrigued. I’m going to be trying this in a crib blanket size first, but I so want one for my own double bed, done all in lavenders, purples and white. It may take me a while to collect all the fabrics in just those colors. Thanks for incredible instructions.
That sounds beautiful, I’d love to see some pictures when you finish!
Any special washing instructions for this blanket?
Wow! This is incredible. You should sell these on Etsy for people like me that can’t sew to save their lives.
Thanks! I do sell them on etsy! I have some up for sale in my shop and I take custom orders!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AwaitingAda