Kindergarten Class Quilt

Here are photos of a quilt I just made with Leah's kindergarten class.  One of their required science units is about fabric and quilts/blankets.  So they've been reading books about quilting and I helped her teacher with a few activities.  They made quilts on paper by gluing one inch squares of fabric (cut from my stash) onto a gridded sheet of paper.  I might put Leah's on here once she brings it home - its up in the hallway at school now.  


Then we made this quilt together about the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  I prepped the quilt squares by centering a 6'' square of freezer paper on a 7'' square of white muslin.  (I found that two layers of freezer paper worked best.  Stiff enough to color on but still easy for the kids to peel off when they were done.)  I then made up index cards with things that the caterpillar ate.  Each kid got to pick a card from the deck and thats what their quilt square would be about.  Then they used crayons to draw the food and label it.  Most kids drew caterpillars eating their designated food.  


I brought all that home and then heat set the crayon on the muslin (hot dry iron over paper to soak up the extra wax).  Then I made it into simple quilt using the current Caterpillar line of fabric from Andover Fabrics.   


On the back of the quilt are muslin blocks with each kid's name on it.  If I do it again, I'll do that part differently - I made all the names into a panel which I then sewed onto the backing.  I was  trying to avoid piecing together the backing but the extra layers ended up making that part of the back of the quilt kind of stiff.  Next time I'll just suck it up and piece the backing.  :)   I used polyester batting from my scrap bin and a quick-turn-and-topstitch finish.  No sense in binding or doing anything fancy on something that is going to be used in a kindergarten classroom.   This week I'll take the quilt in to show the kids and then they can help me tie with yarn in a few places.  That will fulfill another 'unit' of their science lesson - to sew a few stitches.  


Overall, fun.  I think the kids will be surprised at how cute it turned out.  Enjoy the pictures!  

Update:  I spent two afternoon in the classroom during their hourlong 'Choice Time' letting the kids stitch around their squares with green embroidery floss.  About 10 or so out of 18 kids wanted to give it a whirl - some just did a few stitches, others went all the way around their block.  One little girl cracked me up when she saw me threading a needle and said, "Hey - my mom knows how to do that too, only not as fast as you just did it."  Another girl came over with a piece of paper and a marker at the ready and wanted me to spell the name of all the supplies and the name of the fabric store where I bought everything so she could tell her mom to buy her some sewing stuff 'since now I know how'.  I don't have a photo of the stitched on quilt but I'll try to get one.