{"id":36305,"date":"2025-08-06T07:39:43","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T07:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/?p=36305"},"modified":"2025-08-06T07:39:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T07:39:43","slug":"add-a-soft-toy-to-your-handmade-quilt-for-the-ultimate-baby-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/add-a-soft-toy-to-your-handmade-quilt-for-the-ultimate-baby-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Add a Soft Toy to Your Handmade Quilt for the Ultimate Baby Gift!"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re a new grandparent who quilts or your family is expecting a new baby soon, you’re likely planning a special quilt for the new arrival. Adding a coordinated stuffed animal to your quilt can create the ultimate new baby gift: you’ll keep them snuggly warm and give them a first friend!<\/span><\/p>\n

Our first blog post featuring quilt and toy combos<\/a><\/strong><\/span> was so popular that we’re back with a second installment ~> AND we’ve expanded the featured quilts to include some LESS traditional options, such as minky blankets, panel quilts, and even a toy made from an upcycled old quilt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s take a look\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lots of Quilters Sew a Funky Friend as their First Toy Project!<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you’re new to sewing both quilts and soft toys, here’s a great example of how to ease into both projects. To make a quilt without too much patchwork, Kristie Pierce<\/strong> used \u201cquilt panel\u201d fabric, which has large designs that you can top stitch. She chose the Baby Bunny pattern<\/strong><\/span><\/a> which is an easy pattern without too many pieces, plus it was designed to be baby-safe and just the right size for infants.
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Ben Darby<\/strong> also used the Baby Bunny pattern<\/strong><\/span><\/a> as one of his first toy sewing projects, and he paired Baby Bunny with this beautiful quilt and a few other toys. What a lucky kid to get this gift set!
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Click HERE to buy the Baby Bunny pattern.<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
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\"Baby<\/p>\n

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And Audrey Gorvett <\/strong> made a colorful statement with her first Funky Friend! She sewed Digger Dachshund<\/strong><\/a><\/span> using cartoon character fabric that ties in with the bright yellows and reds on the quilt.
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Click HERE to buy the Dachshund pattern.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Elephants on Parade!<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Everyone loves elephants, so they’re a natural subject for baby quilts. Elise Luce<\/strong> added a fluffy Ellie Eephant<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span> made in faux fur to her pastel alphabet block quilt. She also added crinkle plastic to Ellie\u2019s ears for sensory play!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here’s another vibrant Ellie Elephant<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span> and quilt combo. Mary Shaw<\/strong> paired a hot pink Ellie with an eye-catching quilt featuring some neon pink, showing that all baby quilts need to be pastel!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sharon Hale<\/strong> also used Tula Pink fabric for her Ellie Elephant<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span> and quilt combo. I love the mix of green and pink! \ud83d\udc97\ud83d\udc9a<\/span><\/p>\n

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Judi Mullen<\/strong> sewed this striking Ellie Elephant<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span> with batik fabric ears to match the back of her colorful quilt.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Click HERE to buy the Elephant pattern<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Any Animal Makes a Great Quilt Combo Gift!<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mitch Monkey<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> has enduring appeal as a baby gift due to his floppy limbs and friendly face. Cindy Smit<\/strong> sewed up a baby-safe Mitch with felt eyes to accompany her adorable monkey quilt.
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Click HERE too buy the Monkey pattern.<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Monkey<\/p>\n

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If you’re looking for a trendy gift, a highland cow theme will fit the bill. Cindy Breaux Breville<\/strong> made this adorable Harmony Highland Cow<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span> to go with the fun texture of a rag quilt.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Click HERE to buy the Highland Cow Pattern<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Looking for a gift idea with a little more \u201cbite\u201d? This amazing shark quilt looks fantastic paired with Sammy Shark, both sewn by Elise Luce<\/strong>.
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Click HERE to buy the Shark Pattern.<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
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Carrie Anciaux<\/strong> chose Kiki Koala to match one of the animals represented on this quilt for her newborn grand-niece. The tiny pink bow on Kiki\u2019s ear is a cute touch.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Click HERE to buy the Koala pattern.<\/strong><\/a><\/span>
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\"Koala<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wonderful Woodland animals & quilts!<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Woodland animal theme fabric gives you lots of options when selecting a coordinating Funky Friend. Mariah Wagner<\/strong> chose Sue Squirrel<\/strong><\/span><\/a> to match this pretty purple quilt, which features birth stats on one side.
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Click HERE to buy the Squirrel pattern.<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
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\"Squirrel<\/p>\n

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<\/h2>\n

Not a quilter? Try a \u201cblanket\u201d gift combo!<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

You don’t have to know how to do patchwork quilting to make a cute blanket & toy combo gift. Ann Wall<\/strong> embroidered a puppy on a dimple minky blanket and paired it with a Puppy Dog Pete<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0toy with denim accents.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Click HERE to buy the Puppy Dog pattern.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Puppy<\/p>\n

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Some quilt shops sell large fabric panels big enough to serve as the entire front of a blanket. Kathleen Hailey<\/strong> backed a nautical themed fabric panel with blue fleece and then made a matching William Whale<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span> toy.
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Click HERE to buy the Whale pattern.<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
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When Kathy Ghavimi <\/strong>decided to donate a baby gift to a charity auction, she sewed up Fifi Fox<\/strong><\/a><\/span> and paired her with a blanket, washcloths, and burp cloths!
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Click HERE to buy the Fox Pattern<\/strong><\/a><\/span>
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Have Quilting Skills? Try These Funky Friends!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

If you’re a quilter who has never sewn a 3D toy before, the Silly Scrap Snake Sewing Pattern<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span> is a good place to start. You can use your existing quilting skills, such as matching up fabrics and sewing strong, straight lines. Elise Luce<\/strong> used fabrics from multiple quilt projects in this gift set.<\/p>\n

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Click HERE to buy the Scrap Snake Sewing Pattern.<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
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If you enjoy free-motion quilting or topstitching, you can put those skills to work making Belinda Butterfly<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. Belinda\u2019s wings include a top stitching template, and you can make the design as easy or complex as you want. Amy Smith<\/strong> presented Belinda along with a gorgeous matching quilt.
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Sandy Cline<\/strong> added applique hearts on Belinda Butterfly<\/strong><\/span><\/a>‘s wings as part of a gift for her grand-niece. Sandy used remnants from the baby quilt she made so the toy would match.
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Click HERE to buy the Butterfly Sewing Pattern<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
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Finally, some upcycled quilt gifts!<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

A lot of work went into this memory toy and quilt combo, both made from neck ties! Cora Turner<\/strong> used the free Honey Teddy pattern to compliment the quilt.<\/p>\n

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Looking for a FREE easy teddy bear pattern?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Honey Teddy Bear is a free pattern that I give to my newsletter subscribers as a thank you gift. If you haven’t got the pattern already – scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up for my newsletter. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Meet<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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And a toy sewn from a quilt!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

I’ve seen several toys made from upcycled quilts of the years, and I especially like this Easter Bunny Buddy<\/strong><\/span><\/a> sewn by Kim Maddern<\/strong>. Kim transformed a great-grandmother’s quilt into a gift for her great-grandson\u2019s first Easter.
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Click HERE to buy the Easter Bunny sewing pattern.<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
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Want to win a
\nFREE toy pattern?<\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s so EASY to enter the Pattern GIVEAWAY! <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Facebook<\/p>\n

ALL you need to do is post a photo<\/strong> of a FUNKY FRIENDS FACTORY toy that you have made<\/strong> on the<\/span> Funky Friends Factory Facebook Page<\/strong> <\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of each month I draw a winner and post the winner’s name on the Blog the following MONTH. <\/strong>I have an Album on Facebook<\/strong> for all the MAKEROFTHEMONTH winners<\/strong>. You can check it out<\/span> HERE!<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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NOT on Facebook? ENTER by email! \ud83d\ude00<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

*** You can send me your photos by email too<\/a><\/strong><\/span>!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So come on! Share your photos \u00a0~> The next winner could be YOU!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n


\"Pauline.<\/span>
\nTill next time,<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Sewing,
\nPauline
\n<\/span><\/strong>xxx<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re a new grandparent who quilts or your family is expecting a new baby soon, you’re likely planning a special quilt for the new arrival. Adding a coordinated stuffed animal to your quilt can create the ultimate new baby gift: you’ll keep them snuggly warm and give them a first friend! Our first blog […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,21,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-feedback","category-fff-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/500-quilt-combo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36305"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37402,"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36305\/revisions\/37402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manage.funkyfriendsfactory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}