Looking for an adorable baby gift bundle? We have a very cuddly suggestion! Follow our steps to create a whole cloth quilt and a matching stuffed teddy bear. Even if you’re brand new to sewing and quilting, this pair of projects is something you can make quickly and easily.

There’s no piecing involved in a whole cloth quilt. The goal is to find your favorite quilting cottons and use them as full panels front and back. Sometimes, it can be hard to cut a beautiful fabric into small pieces for patchwork; even though you know if will come back together into something wonderful. With a whole cloth quilt, you can showcase an entire gorgeous design without interruption.

We chose three different coordinating fabrics: one for the front, one for the back, and a third for the binding. We’ve included our choices in the Supply list below, and you’ll notice we mixed from three different collection. Yes! It can be done. If you are new to picking out fabric combos, take a look at our Designer Tips for Blending Colors + Prints.

Although our fabric motifs were smaller and random, people often turn to a whole cloth quilt in order to feature big, bold designs or even a panel or border configuration. As always, with any of our S4H projects, the final fabric choices are up to you – the notes here are simply recommendations and inspiration.

Our thanks go out to our friends at Janome America for sponsoring this Baby Bundle. As you work your way through the step-by-step instructions, you’ll find notes on the presser feet we chose, the stitches selected, and the tips and techniques we turned to for a fabulous finish. We go into extra detail to insure things are beginner-friendly. If you’re a pro, it’s easy to buzz through and absorb the highlights.

One of the things we often stress within our instructions is to change out your presser feet and think about your stitches. It really takes just a few minutes, but it can save you time and effort in the long run. Be honest – when was the last time you looked through that plastic bag of presser feet that came with your machine? If you’re a Janome sewing enthusiast, you might want to check out their Presser Foot Handbook.

As mentioned, these are indeed beginner friendly projects, and we link to full tutorials throughout that can provide additional information about bias binding, fussy cutting, and working with plush fabric, like the super soft sherpa style fleece we used for Mr. Bear.

Speaking of that cute little guy, we are especially proud of his free, simple-to-sew pattern. We show you how to stitch right through the paper pattern pieces to make it easy to keep your curves and angles spot-on, even around tight corners and curves.There are also stuffing tips and tricks to insure the bear is full and firm yet still squeezably soft.

If you’re teaching someone to sew, especially a young person, this project would be especially delightful. Maybe there’s a “big brother or sister to be” in your world; if so, this would be a fun way for them to make something special for the new baby. Even the hand embroidery used for the bear’s eyes and nose is very basic.

We used the amazing top of the line Janome Continental M17 for our samples, but you could use any model with great results. We loved the extra bed space on the CM17, which allowed us to complete the wide diamond quilting with ease.

A BIG thank you once again to Janome America for their support of this project and many of the other most popular projects across the S4H site. It’s what helps us continue to bring free content to you! To understand first-hand why we are a Janome Exclusive Studio, we invite you to visit a local Janome dealer for an in-person test stitch on the machines we consider to be the best in the industry. To find out more before you go, visit the Janome website and follow them on social media.

The Whole Cloth Baby Quilt finishes at approximately 42” x 42” and the Bear finishes at about 11” tall.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Sewing Machine and standard presser foot
• Even Feed or Walking foot; or engage your machine’s built-in fabric feeding system, such as the Janome AcuFeed™ Flex system, which is what we used. This is optional – you could certainly use a standard presser foot and regular feed dogs, but with the layers of the quilt and the deep plush of the bear, some sort of dual feed set-up for your machine will make things easier.
• Ditch Quilting foot; optional for the quilt binding

Fabric and Other Supplies

NOTE: Supplies shown below are for the Quilt and the Bear. Of course, you can always choose to do one or the other rather than both. The amounts indicated for the front and back quilt fabrics include a bit extra to account for some simple fussy cutting – the minimum needed for each is 1¼ yards. If you are using a very large motif, panel fabric or similar, use the finished size of 42” x 42” to determine the extra yardage you may require.

• 1⅓ yards of 44”+ wide quilting weight cotton for the quilt front; we originally used Nature Walk in Spring Dust from the Marked by Nature collection by Brittany Polaris for Cotton + Steel
• 1⅓ yards of 44”+ wide quilting weight cotton for the quilt back; we originally used Bananas in Cream Metallic from the Orchard collection from Rifle Paper Company
• ¾ yard of 44”+ wide quilting weight cotton for the quilt binding; we originally used Double Curves in Bumble Bee from the Trinkets 21 collection by Kathy Hall for Andover Fabrics
• ½ yard of 44”+ wide super soft, sherpa style fleece for the bear in a color to coordinate with the blanket fabrics; we originally used Luxury Faux Fur Sherpa Fleece in Tan from Joann Fabrics
• 1⅓ yards of 45” + wide low loft batting
• TWO skeins of embroidery floss for the bear’s eyes and nose; we originally used black for the eyes and a tan just slightly brighter than the fleece for the nose
  NOTE: The bear’s mouth is implied – it is not part of the embroidery. We felt this gave him a sweeter look. As always, you can certainly adjust the features.
• ONE small bag (13oz should be plenty) of premium polyester fiberfill to stuff the bear
• 1 yard of 1” wide ribbon in a color to coordinate with the bear and blanket; this is optional to tie around the bear’s neck – we used a sheer sage green ribbon
• All-purpose thread to match fabric
• See-through ruler
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Scissors
• Rotary cutter and mat
• Iron and ironing board
• Seam gauge
• Seam ripper
• Hand sewing needle
• Large eye needle for hand embroidery
• Straight pins

Pattern Download

1. Download and print the pattern pieces for this project: BEAR TOP, BEAR BOTTOM, BEAR EARS, AND QUILT CORNER TEMPLATE
   
   NOTE: This download consists of THREE 8½” x 11″sheets containing pieces for all the patterns. You must print the PDF file at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page. There is a guide rule on each sheet to confirm your printout is to scale. Print horizontally (landscape).
2. Cut out each pattern piece along its solid outer line.
3. For the Bear Body pattern, aligning the printed arrows, butt together and tape (do not overlap) Top A and Bottom B to form the complete Bear pattern. The ears are two separate pieces. The corner template is a single piece.

Making The Quilt

Getting Started

1. We traditionally recommend pre-washing and ironing your fabric prior to starting (read more about pre-washing and pre-shrinking here), but with a whole cloth quilt, we feel it is especially important.
2. From the fabric for the quilt front, fussy cut ONE 42” x 42” square.
   NOTE: It is especially important that your front and back panels are square and true. If you are new to “squaring up fabric,” we have a full tutorial you can review prior to starting.
   
3. Leave the fabric for the quilt back as its full yardage – no cutting yet. That will happen after your quilting is complete.
4. From the batting, cut an approximate 45” x 45” square – we say “approximate” because, like the back panel, the batting will be trimmed flush to the front panel after quilting, so the batting simply needs to be larger than the fabric panel. We used an approximately 47” square.
5. Fold the front panel in half and then in half again, so it is now 21” x 21”.
6. Find the printed corner template and pin it against the corner that is all raw edges – you do not want to cut into any of the folds. Pin the template in place and cut along the curve.
   
7. From the fabric for the binding, once again square up your yardage, then cut enough 2” wide strips to equal at least 180”.|
   
8. NOTE: If you are brand new to working with bias binding, you can review our full tutorial on the subject prior to starting.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Layering, Marking, and Basting

1. Set up a large, flat surface. If you’re lucky, perhaps you have a wonderfully large craft table. If not, the dining room table could be a good option or even a clean floor – although you do need a hard surface; pinning and/or cutting on carpet is no fun!
2. First, lay down your back fabric. It should be wrong side up.
3. Next, center the batting panel on top of the back panel.
4. Finally, center the front panel, right side up, on top of the batting. Remember, your back panel and batting panel are a bit larger than the front panel. Lift up the batting to be sure the front panel is nicely centered on the back panel fabric.
   NOTE: Nine times out of ten, folks choose a smaller, random pattern or even a solid color for their backing panel. If you are a rebel and want a dramatically fussy cut back panel, you may want to consider starting with a back panel that is also 42” x 42” with the same curved corners. Then, when layering, you’ll need to be super duper careful to align your panels on either side of the larger batting panel, lifting up that batting repeatedly to insure the fabric panels are flush on all sides.
5. Lightly pin the three panels in place.
   
6. We chose a classic 6” diamond pattern as our quilting pattern. It’s a beginner-friendly option that still creates an interesting final design. You can, of course, select your own favorite quilting design.
7. If following our pattern, start in one bottom corner of the layered panels, measuring 6” in along the bottom raw edge. Mark this point with your fabric pen/pencil.
   
   NOTE: As we always recommend when working on the right side of your fabric, make sure your marking tool is one that will show up against your fabric and will easily wipe away when done or will vanish with exposure to the air or the heat of an iron.
8. With that point clearly marked, measure 6” up the side and make a second mark.
   
9. Continue in this same manner along the entire bottom and side edge, extending your marks by 6” each time.
10. When complete, re-set at the opposite bottom corner to make intersecting diagonal lines – once again, from the bottom to the top.
    
11. You very lightly pinned together your layers above prior to marking your quilting guide lines. The next step is to further secure the layers for quilting. There are several options for this step, from pinning to thread basting to spray basting. Our choice for this project was to first pin between the drawn lines…
    
12. … and then to thread baste with a hand needle and thread.
    

Quilting Stitches

1. Thread your machine with thread to best match the front fabric in the top and to best matching the backing fabric in the bobbin.
2. Attach an Even Feed or Walking foot or engage your machine’s built-in fabric feeding system, such as the Janome AcuFeed™ Flex system, which is what we used.
3. Re-set for a slightly lengthened stitch.
4. Stitch along each of your drawn quilting guide lines through all the layers. If using a diamond pattern as we did, it’s best to first stitch corner-to-corner in one direction…
   
5. … then rotate to stitch from corner-to-corner in the opposite direction.
   
6. As mentioned above, we did securely thread baste prior to starting, but we love being able to engage the Janome AcuFeed™ Flex system, which helps further insure the layers move smoothly and evenly through the machine. We also enjoyed the large bed space on the Janome Continental M17. It meant we needed to do little rolling or folding to fit the quilt under the needle. It’s so much easier to work with flat panels for a precision finish.
   

Trimming and Binding

1. When your quilting is complete, remove your basting thread if you used this option.
   
2. Using a ruler and rotary cutter, trim the back panel and batting panel flush with the front panel.
   
3. Using scissors, trim the back and batting to match the front at each rounded corner.
   NOTE: You could use scissors for both steps, but it’s easier and cleaner to trim the long sides with a rotary cutter.
4. Re-thread the machine with thread to best match the binding fabric in the top and bobbin. Re-set for a standard stitch length.
5. Find all your 2” wide binding strips. Pin them together end to end, at right angles, to create one long strip.
   
6. Using a ¼” seam allowance, stitch the strips together and press each small seam allowance open and flat. We switched to a standard passer foot for this step.
   
7. Press the entire strip in half, wrong sides together.
8. Align the raw edge of the folded  binding along the raw edge of the quilt against the front panel. Start in the middle of the bottom edge of the quilt, leaving approximately 2″ – 3″ at the head and tail. Pin in place.
   
9. Using a ¼” seam allowance, stitch all the way around, removing the pins as you go. As shown in the photos, you can see we switched back to the Janome AcuFeed™ Flex system.
   
10. Be especially slow and careful as you go around each rounded corner. You could even slightly shorten your stitch length just around the corner to help keep a smooth curve.
    
11. When you are approximately 2” from your starting point, lock your stitch so you can finish the ends of the binding. There are a number of options for this step. We chose to first trim away any excess (you only need a couple of inches for the finishing overlap), then folded in the raw end of each of the tails to create a clean finish.
    
12. Lay one tail over the other and pin in place.
    
13. Complete the ¼” seam line.
    NOTE: As mentioned above, you can check out our full bias binding tutorial for tips on alternate finishing methods as well as details about yardage, types of binding, and more.
14. Bring the folded edge around and over onto the quilt back and pin in place all around. As above when stitching, go carefully around the corners, easing slightly to help the bias binding smoothly curve.
15. Hand stitch the binding in place or machine stitch-in-the-ditch. With very narrow bindings like this one, we traditionally opt to hand stitch, which is what we did on this project. However, Janome’s Ditch Quilting foot is a great option for a speedier finish. Again, check out the full bias binding tutorial for more information.
    

Making The Bear

Getting Started

NOTE: Super soft fleece is very fluffy and a bit slippery. It can be easier, especially for beginners, to sew the fleece right through the pattern paper, using the seam line as a stitching guide. This is what we show below. When you finish sewing, you’ll gently tear the paper away from the seam. If you prefer not to do it this way, you will want to add an additional ¼” all around the main body pattern in order to give you a full ½” seam allowance with which to work. For more about sewing with plush fabric, take a look at our full tutorial.

1. From the fleece cut TWO panels approximately 18” x 18” for the main body and ONE approximate 4” x 12” strip for the ears. We say “approximate” because you simply need pieces larger that the patterns with which to work.
2. Place the main body panels right sides together and center the assembled main body panel on top, pining it in place.
   
3. Fold the ear strip in half, right sides together, and pin the two ear patterns in place.
   

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Make the Ears

1. As above with the quilt, we chose to engage the Janome AcuFeed™ Flex system for our Bear construction. This, or a standard Even Feed or Walking foot  is our recommendation when working with thick fleece layers.
2. Thread the machine with thread to best match the fleece in the top and bobbin.
3. Sew from the base of each ear around the tip and back down to the base. DO NOT sew across the base.
   
4. As you stitch, the paper may start to come apart on its own. That is okay.
   
5. Cut the ears apart and trim each along each pattern’s solid outer cut line.
   
6. Completely tear away the paper.
   
7. Turn the ears right side out through the open base.
   NOTE: Our fleece was super fluffy so we didn’t need any additional stuffing in the ears. If you feel your ears are not looking as “plump” as you’d like, you can insert just a bit of polyester fiberfill into each finished ear. Push it all the way to the top of the ears so you can still easily flatten the base of each ear for inserting into the head.

Make the Body

1. Let’s look again at the body pattern pinned onto the two layers of fleece. Note that there are three pairs of dots that indicate the starting/stopping points for the ear positions as well as the opening that should be left for stuffing.
   
2. With the same thread, presser foot, and stitch settings as you used above for the ears, begin stitching the main body. Start your seam at the upper marked dot for the body “stuffing opening.” Lock your stitch and continue following the dashed stitch line.
   
3. Stitch into the corner points of the arms and stop, with your needle in the down position, lift the presser foot and pivot so you are in line line with the next section. Lower the presser foot and off you go.
   
4. Continue around the head, remembering to stop and lock your seam at each of the marking dots for the ears. Continue stitching along the opposite side of the body. Your seam will finish at the lower marked dot for the body “stuffing opening.”
   
5. In the photo below you can see the center of the pattern beginning to pull away as it did on the little ear patterns. You can also see the openings we left for the ears at the top of the head.
   
6. With the paper pattern still pinned in place, pull apart one of the ear openings.
   
7. Find the proper ear for the opening: EAR 1 is the left ear (looking down at the bear) and EAR 2 is the right ear. Slip the ear into the opening. The raw edges of the ear’s base should be flush with the raw edge of the opening.
   
8. Flatten and pin the ear in position.
   
9. Repeat to insert and pin the opposite ear.
   
10. Stitch around the top of the head in line with your original stitching, closing both openings and securing both ears.
    
11. Clip into the corners and tight curves to help the arms and legs turn right side out smoothly, but be sure you don’t clip through the seam line.
    
12. Carefully pull away the paper pattern. You want to keep the bear’s face as one intact piece.
    
13. Once the face is preserved, you can be a bit more aggressive to remove the rest of the center pattern piece…
    
14. … and finally, the seam allowance edges.
    
15. Gently turn the bear right side out through the side body opening. Use a long, blunt tool, such as a knitting needle, chopstick or point turner to smooth out the seam all around.

Embroider the face

1. Pin the bear’s face pattern back in position on the front of the bear.
   
2. Thread the large-eyed embroidery needle with a full strand of floss in the color for the bear’s nose. Use a tiny running stitch to outline the nose. You can stitch right through the paper.
   
3. Once you’ve gone around one time, you can tear away the paper nose and go around a second time.
   
4. Then, remove the paper pattern completely and fill in the nose outline with a dense satin stitch. You can carefully trim back some of the “fleece fluff” prior to starting your satin stitch to give you a flatter surface.
   
5. Re-thread the embroidery needle with thread for the bear’s eyes. Replace the paper pattern once again to set the position for the two eyes, again stitching directly through the paper.
   
6. At each “eye point” use a tiny satin stitch to make a little round eye.
   
   NOTE: New to hand embroidery and worried about stitching the layers together?? Not a problem. This type of fleece is quick thick and it’s easy to insure you are only doing the hand embroidered features through the front layer. Simply pull apart the layers and hold them that way while you stitch. You could even insert a “spacer” through the stuffing opening (like a thin piece of cardboard or similar), holding it behind the front layer – further insuring you are stitching just through the front of the bear’s face.

Stuff and Add the Ribbon

1. Find your polyester filler. Start with a generous handful of filling. Gently pull the filling loose. The idea is to remove any clumps, while fluffing the fill at the same time. Repeat the process 2-3 times before inserting the fill into the opening in the side of the body.
2. From the pre-worked filling, take a portion equal to the area where you want to begin stuffing. We recommend starting with the sections farthest from the seam opening and working your way out. For example, start with an arm, then move to a leg, then move up to the ears and head, etc.
   
3. It’s a good idea to use a blunt tool, like what you used above to smooth the seam after turning the bear right side out, to help push the stuffing into all the sections.
   NOTE: We have a tutorial with our favorite Stuffing Tips + Techniques that you can review if you want to become a Stuffing Star.
4. The bear should be nice and full, but don’t overfill. He should be soft enough for little hands to squeeze.
5. When your stuffing is complete, turn under the raw edges of the opening so they are flush with the sewn seam and use the standard hand sewing needle and standard thread to best match the fleece to hand sew the opening closed. We suggest a tight ladder stitch.
   
6. Find the optional 1” ribbon and tie into a pretty bow around the bear’s neck. Trim the tails so they fall to the top of the bear’s legs.
   INSERT: One of the beauty images of Mr. Bear
   NOTE: The ribbon is optional and you may want to skip it if you plan on gifting this Bundle to a baby who has reached the everything-in-the-mouth stage. Mr. Bear is cute with or without a bow.

Project Design: Anne Adams
Sample Creation: Debbie Guild