Custom Graduation Quilt

A while back, I was asked to make a Custom Graduation Quilt for a student who was graduating High School in May. After our brief discussion, in the hallways of the high school, my client (Heather) and I decided to meet at Starbucks to review design and fabric options.

Heather wanted to have a quilt that could be signed at the graduation party, but could also be used as a lap-quilt. Heather had some digital pictures to incorporate into the quilt. The colors picked were the school colors: orange and black. I also used some white and grey so it wouldn’t look like a Halloween themed quilt.

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Custom Graduation Quilt Supply List 

• Pattern:  Floating Squares by MSQC
• Base Fabric: Pewter by PBS Fabrics
• Accent 1 Fabric: Carrot by PBS Fabrics
• Accent 2 Fabric: White by PBS Fabrics
• Accent 3 Fabric: Ebony by PBS Fabrics
• Main Backing Fabric: Orange with White Skulls (retired print)
• Secondary Backing Fabric: Black with White Skulls (retired print)
• Binding:  I used bits from my backing fabric.
• Quilt Batting: This is my favorite brand
• Printable Fabric or make your own fabric with a Ricoh Printer.

Basic Sewing Supplies Needed

• Sewing Machine
• Thread
• Rotary Cutter with sharp blade
• Fabric Scissors
• Acrylic Ruler
• Cutting Mat
• Iron & Ironing Board

custom graduation quilt assembly

As I mentioned before, Heather provided some digital pictures of her nephew and late brother to incorporate into the quilt. I originally thought I would insert the pictures into the front of the quilt, but the symmetry of the “Floating Squares” would have been compromised. I decided to improvise the back, while utilizing both pictures. Instead of using strictly solids, we chose to incorporate fabrics that personified the High School Mascot – The Pirates. Here are the 2 fabrics we decided upon:

I’m afraid I bought the end of the bolt of the orange raven print. I hope they come out with a similar design. As you may know – many fabric companies will not reprint a design once it sells out. The black fabric with white skull and crossbones was fun to work with because it is non-directional and the design is simple. I also used the orange fabric as the binding for the entire quilt.

The design for the back of the quilt was improvised with the knowledge that the focal point would be 2 photos in a large block. The provided pictures were extremely special because Heather’s brother had recently passed away. They were fortunate to have these very recent pictures taken as a part of Heather’s Nephew’s Senior pictures. The design of the back utilized most of the procured fabric, while reserving a small portion of the orange fabric for the binding.

custom graduation quilt quilting

Once I had the front and back assembled, I took the quilt (and some Quilter’s Dream batting) to my friends house. I rented me some long-arm time (this was before I had my own LongArm Juki J350) so I could quilt the front and back together. I used a free-motion pattern, which complimented the front of the quilt.

Before I quilted the pattern, I practiced on my sketch pad.  Practicing on a sketch pad helps with muscle memory and can ease the translation to the quilt. Here is an example of the free-motion quilting pattern I used:

If you haven’t used a long-arm quilting machine before, I highly recommend you give one a try! This process definitely speeds up the quilting process and the quilting results are better than can be produced on a domestic machine.

The Quilt took 6 weeks to assemble, quilt and bind. I could have probably finished it in less time, but I gave myself more time because I was also juggling a busy Handmade Etsy shop as well. Heather and her Nephew were extremely pleased with the finished product!  Yay!

custom graduation quilt finished product

Have you ever made a custom quilt for a special someone? I would love to know about it! Comment below on the details.

Until next time, Happy Quilting!