Dinosaur Quilt for Project Linus

It took a couple of years of trial and error, but I think I have finally worked out the kinks of the sewing project I do with my daughter's 3-6 year old classroom.  This year went so smoothly!  Many of the kids knew what to do already, and I picked a great design package that was cute, colorful, and stitched out quickly.  The kids each got to make an appliqued dinosaur with my embroidery machine and a nine patch square by gluing pre-cut fabric squares onto grid interfacing.  I then took everything home, and sewed it all together into a quilt that will be donated to Project Linus.

Here is our finished quilt:

 The photo doesn't do the colors justice;  it is deep, rich blues, greens, and bright yellow.  Every single dinosaur is unique, and they are all adorable. 

 The back of the quilt is a soft, fuzzy, baby blue.  My eight year old was with me when I went to buy the backing and he made the final choice.  I think he made the right call.  I think the darker green I was also looking at would have made the whole thing too dark.

 I took the quilt in today to show the kids.  They all get so excited to find the dinosaur they made on the finished quilt.

 Unfortunately, we are missing a few kids, but here are most of the little hands that worked so hard on the beautiful project.  The quilt colors look much better in this picture.





First, they picked out which dinosaur they wanted to make, and three colors of thread.

 Changing their thread color:

 There is a lot of thread inside the machine and they have to pull a long way to get it all out.


 I showed them how to thread the machine the first time, then they could try it themselves.  A few of the kindergartners remembered from previous years, and didn't want me to show them. 

Once threaded, the machine does all the work.  They just had to push the "start" button.

Before sewing the dinosaur down, they need to add some glue:

Then, they place the dinosaur on the fabric:

In between threading the machine and pushing the button, there was time to watch the machine stitch out their design:

Sometimes, there is enough time to talk, tell secrets, and visit with friends:

 I love how into it the boys get.

This little one talked my ear off.



Once their dinosaurs were finished, they made a nine patch square:

I discovered that it was easier if I put a little glue inside each square and just had them place their fabric on top.  Adding the glue themselves was a bit challenging for some kids, and others glued it so securely that I had a hard time repositioning things when I got it home.


Lastly, here are some close ups of the dinosaurs the kids made:

 I love the polka dot binding!  My son wanted a solid yellow that I had, but I liked the polka dots better.  I wish the color in these photos was more true to life.

This was really fun project!  I'll be a little sad to say good-bye to this quilt when I drop it off, but hopefully it will make someone's day a little brighter.