Muslin Swaddler Quilt Tutorial

My dear sweet friend from college enlisted my help in finding a way to upcycle her son's precious Aden and Anais muslin swaddle blankets. If you aren't familiar with these swaddlers, they are just the best. Super huge, gauzy soft muslin, adorable prints. They are perfect for swaddling, creating a clean play-space just about anywhere, and using to drape over the stroller in warm weather. I don't blame her sweet son one bit for not wanting to part with his. But he just got too big, so we needed something new. She sent me a big ole box with 9 swaddle blankets, and here's what I sent back:

It's roughly twin-sized (about 60" x 80", whereas a twin comforter is 68" x 86") and double-sided. I figured one side or the other would match any room, so he should be able to use it for a long time. It's bound with satin blanket binding and quilted using the simple tying method. If you want to recreate this, here's some info on how I made it.

Materials:

• You need at least 6 swaddle blankets to make the checkerboard pattern at these dimensions (3 for each side), as you get 8 squares from each swaddle. If you want to use more, you can. You'll just need 24 squares of swaddle for each side (so 48 total if you're making a double-sided quilt)
• 1.5 yards of 4 different solid color quilting cotton (or however many colors you want to use, but you need 24 solid squares per side. You get 12 squares out of 1.5 yards of 44" wide fabric)
• Satin blanket binding (2 packs)
• Twin size blanket batting
• Embroidery thread for quilting
• Basic sewing supplies

1. Cut your muslin swaddle blankets into 11" x 11" squares (24 for single sided quilt, 48 for double-sided). This material is very stretchy, but try not to pull or twist it when you're cutting. Let it lie where it wants to lie, and then cut, preferably with a rotary cutter. It's ok if they aren't perfect.
2. Cut your cotton fabric into 11" squares (24 for single sided quilt, 48 for double-sided).
3. Lay out the pattern however you want it.
4. Sew squares together in strips. Then sew the strips together to form the blanket sides.
5. Lay out the bottom layer with right side facing the floor. Lay your batting on top. Trim edges as needed. Lay top layer on top of batting, facing up. 
6. Pin and sew blanket binding to edges. Tip: Sew each side separately, leaving extra slack at the ends when you pin. Sew each long side first, then sew the shorter sides, folding over the corners to hide the edges of the binding.
7. Quilt using embroidery thread by tying threads into corners where squares come together. I used white so that it wouldn't stand out too much. You could also machine or hand quilt.

A perfect way to keepsake those baby swaddles!