A Minkee Giraffe Quilt!

Youngest grandson loves the lush Minkee fabric but he also likes a heavy covering. It has been discovered that people with autism find comfort and calm with a weight across their legs/bodies, so I made this newest quilt heavy [it weighs 3lbs, a lot for such a small quilt] by using very thick, plush minkee for the background and then adding a soft drapey batting called Dream Angel by Quilter's Dream. 

This batting has an added advantage- it is genetically engineered to be inherently flame retardant without chemicals or PBDE, and will not melt or flow. It never loses it's flame retardant qualities through a lifetime of laundering, and I use it in all baby/children's quilts.

This is the pattern I adapted from Custom Creations by Cindy Surina.

The plush blue minkee that remained was cut up and added to the backing adding even more weight.

I left the outer border unquilted but stabilized the inner border, another advantage of this batting is that it may be quilted 6" apart so I was able to keep the quilting minimal. The thread used is Superior Sew Fine on top and Bottom Line in the bobbin. These are superfine threads that sink into the fabric and become almost invisible. 

The minkee giraffe fabric has a smooth, velvet-like texture and the true color is brown and pale blue. The binding is wider than usual and single fold, the whole quilt sandwich is too thick for a narrower binding and zigzag stitch was the only way to sew it down securely.
I won't see little man again until this weekend so I am anxious to see how he likes it!