Instead of an autograph book I decided to try something different on our last trip to Walt Disney World and make a Disney autograph quilt!
We have done autograph books in the years past but I have found from experience that the books just sit on the shelf. I wanted something that was different and we could use or look at every day. I thought a quilt would work out great because we have a lot of family movie nights, every Friday in fact, and we are always looking for blankets to cuddle up with in the cold winter nights. In the summer when we have outdoor movies it is nice to have a blanket to keep the chill off as the sun goes down.
What better way to showcase our memories of the autographs of our Disney Parks friends than with a Dsieny autograph quilt!
I tried to take careful notes about how I put this quilt together so you would be able to replicate it easily but I am afraid somewhere along the line I will forget a step or misquote a measurement.
Please forgive me now.
Disney Autograph Quilt basics:
All fabrics are to be pre washed, dried and ironed. All seam allowances are 1/4″
White cotton fabric cut into 5 1/2″ squares (I think I bought 1 yard and I had well over 50 squares, but did not use 50 in this quilt.)
Fabric for between the white squares (Mickey face fabric in this case) 1 yard. Cut into 3″ strips.
Boarder 1 (Yellow) 6 inches of fabric. Cut into 1″ strips.
Boarder 2 (Black) 10 inches cut into 1 1/2″ strips.
Boarder #3 (Red) 26 inches cut into 3″ strips.
Binding (Black) 1/2 yard cut into 3″ strips.
Coordinating thread.
Sharpie Markers for the autographs.
Something firm such as a small clip board for them to sign on. *Sometimes the $1 bin at target or the Dollar store has something similar. Keep your eyes open for them.*
Rubber bands to keep the fabric in place.
*If you are not making this a double sided autograph quilt, meaning white autograph squares on both sides, you will need to purchase a coordinating fabric for the backing. This measurement will vary depending on how large your quilt will be.
Disney Autograph Quilt Directions:
All directions are a suggestion and I encourage you to apply your creativity and math skills to make this project work for you.
Once you come home from Disney Parks, or in your hotel room, set the sharpie marker autograph with a hot iron, no steam.
Cut all your fabrics with a rotary cutter, self healing mat and a straight edge.
Measure twice, cut once, you will thank me.
Don’t cut a finger tip off.
Using 1/4″ seam allowance, and sew the ‘Mickey Face’ fabric between the white autograph squares. I say Mickey Face fabric but use what ever you want.
Iron the seams AWAY from the white squares. Ironing the TOWARD the white squares will make them show through the white fabric in the end product. Ironing them AWAY from the white squares will give you a cleaner look.
I did strips of 4 squares but do what ever works out for the number of autographs you were able to get.
In-between the rows, add another strip of the Mickey Face fabric.
Iron the fabric AWAY from the white squares.
Trim and neaten as you go.
Add the boarders.
Iron and trim as you go.
Lay the ‘top’ of the quilt face down on the floor. Making sure it is flat and taunt, lay the all cotton batting on top.
Lay the ‘bottom’ of the quilt (either autograph for backing) on the cotton batting. Pin everything together. Trim as needed.
Add the binding.
Quilt or tack as desired.
I hope you love this project as much as I loved creating and sharing it with you!
Isn’t this a great autograph book alternative?