[completed] brother-in-law sneaker quilt

front of the quilt

This quilt for my brother-in-law is one of my favorite Christmas presents this year. I finished it months before Christmas (which is always nice). I bought the fabric for this quilt at the same time that I got the fabric for Adam's anniversary quilt. 

look at those awesome prints!

My brother-in-law loves sneakers, so I had to get this bundle of fabrics that featured fabulous sneaker prints, music notes, cassette tapes and bright solid colors. I matched the bundle of fat quarters with some cut-up black cotton Ikea sheets, and used this tutorial from Oh Fransson! for the pattern. The pattern makes a queen-sized quilt (like this one), but I adjusted the pattern to make a large twin/lap size since I intended the quilt to be used in his man-cave rather than his bedroom. Doesn't it make for a fun man-cave quilt for a 13-year-old?

quilted ps3 controller and sneakers

To make the quilt even more special and fun, I quilted sneakers, video game controllers, headphones, music notes, and various other designs using this technique. Basically, I took cardboard or paper templates, pinned or just laid them on the quilt, and then free-motion quilted around the design. This was initially a pretty slow process, but I got faster and more creative with practice.

quilted initials and sneakers

All the quilting was done in grey thread (the same as in Adam's anniversary quilt), so that the painstakingly quilted designs would show up nicely on the front and back of the quilt.

back of the quilt

 This was my first time using Ikea sheets, and while the sheets were a pain to cut, the fabric worked well for both the front and back and the quilt (and was pretty cost-effective). I have another set (also black) just waiting for inspiration to strike. I got the idea of using sheets from the Oh Fransson! tutorial, and I'm loving the whole idea. (You might have noticed that I also used a sheet for the backing of Adam's anniversary quilt).

closeup of the backing

The grey thread pops against the black backing, while not being too obtrusive.

binding

I bound the quilt with a scraps from the prints on the front and a light lime-y green solid. It turned out pretty well.

I had fun making this quilt and learning a new way to quilt in the process. And my brother-in-law loved the quilt - which is ultimately the most important thing!

smiley face and wonky star