When I make a memory quilt I start by cutting my material into 12″ squares.  You can either use scissors or a cutting mat and rotary cutter.  I prefer a cutting mat and rotary cutter simply because I find it easier to cut a straight line, than with scissors.  But any curves to be cut I use regular scissors.  For your quilt to line up right when you start to sew it together, it is essential that your squares be square.   I find making a template for my square size extremely helpful.   You will need two templates.  One for your colored squares and one for your white squares.   You can use any stiff material, old cardboard works great.  Just cut to the desired size for your square.  If your colored material square is twelve inches, then I would make my template for the white squares eight inches.  This way you will have a four inch border around your photo square.   All this is based of course on your square being twelve inches.  If your square is a different size, no problem just be sure to make your white square template smaller than your colored square templates.

Cut one square for each photo.  If you are using two different colors of material, divide your photos in half, so you will have the equal numbers of squares.  After you are done with your colored material, then cut one square of your white material for each photo.  If you will be washing and drying your memory quilt from time to time, pre-wash your material before you cut your squares.  You will probably need to iron your material after it is dried, to make it as wrinkle free as possible.  Iron your white material especially since this is the square your photo will be add to.

The next section will deal with pressing your photo onto your white material.

The material choice is be next.  I find calico a nice weight, and it sews beautifully.  You will also want a material that launders well, so stay away from for example wool.  You can choose the color based on the person that your making the memory quilt for or your own favorite color.  You will need 2 complimenting colors.  For my mother-in-law’s memory quilt I chose her favorite color… blue.  One was a dark blue with a light blue pattern on it.  The other color was like a mirror image of the first,  light blue with a dark blue pattern on it.  I find some really nice material at JOANN Fabric. Joann.com

Remember if you do a memory quilt for a person who has Alzheimer’s to chose a pattern that is not too loud or busy.  It tends to just add to their overall confusion.  When I chose the photo’s for Peggy’s memory quilt,  I chose photos that regressed her children from present day back to when they were infants.  For those of you who are lucky enough not to know anyone afflicted with this horrible and hateful disease, Alzheimer’s patients retain their first memories the longest.  The ones that just happened, are the first to go.   This is why in the early stage of the disease a person might not recall where they parked the car or what they had for dinner the night before.  But they will recalled things that happened in their childhood with such clarity that it is at times quite intimidating.   So, with this in mind I tried to keep Peggy connected to her children as long as possible.  She may not know my husband is her oldest son. but believe me she knows that little boy or baby is her son Larry.  So her quilt was truly a “Memory” quilt.

For my Mom, I made her a “Family” quilt.  Everyone in the family sent me something that when you saw it you knew who it was from.  For example my husband was in the military for 20 years, so for his square I used camouflage material.  My daughter loves sunflowers, so her square was..you guessed it sunflowers.  I used an old nightgown for my square.   It had really seen better days, and every time I wore it my Mom made a comment about it.  So it was only fitting that it found it’s way onto her quilt.  They also sent me pictures of each member of “their” family.  Mom’s “Family” Quilt had 28 squares on it and every square had a different material.  It was beautiful.

You will need approximately  1 & 1/4 yards of two different colors of material.  This amount is based on your squares being 12″ big and using 35 photos.   Adjust the amount to fit your needs.  The way I came up with this formula was to take the number of photos you want on your quilt and that will tell you the number of squares  you will have.   After know the number of squares, and lay it out on paper, you can then take the number of squares and multiply it by 12″ (or what  ever size you want your squares to be).  Most materials are 45″ wide, so plan the amount you buy on this formula.   

You will also need 2 &1/2 yards of  white material.  This is what you will iron your transfer pictures on to.  It is very important that you get “white” because other wise your photos will look muddy or just plain weird.  I buy just a plain white flat sheet for this, just make sure that it is of average or better thread count so your photos won’t look too scratchy.  You can always find a way to use the rest of the white material.  Your next quilt!!  What a great idea.  I make my white squares 9″, that way  I have a 3 inch border of the colored material around each picture.  Remember to allow 1/4″ for seam allowance on each square.