Saturday, August 5, 2017

Show Off Saturday - Fidget Quilt

I've been intrigued by fidget quilts for some time, but never found the time to make one.  A friend's mother is in need of a fidget quilt, so it gave me the motivation to start one.  Fidget quilts are for little children, or people who have Alzheimers or dementia -- it gives the fingers and hands something to do.

There are lots of great ideas on the internet, but I mainly followed this tutorial/video by Rob @ Man Sewing.  I didn't have a plan when I started, so I had to search my various crafts piles to find items.


I tried to use items that had different textures:

  • piece of elastic for texture and to pull
  • piece of minky fabric for texture
  • beads on ribbon to slide
  • various pieces of ribbon
  • fuzzy hair elastic to pull


Some more ribbon for playing and some larger beads.


I also added a pocket; a piece of velcro; a zipper; and some lace.


It finishes 23 inches.  I'm hoping this is a good size for her lap and that I've included enough different items and textures.



This took about three hours to finish (finding items took the longest).  I'm looking forward to making more fidget quilts.


If you have a finish this week, consider linking up with:

Thank Goodness It's Finish Friday @ Kathy's Kwilts and More
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hand Quilts 
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Show Off Saturday @ She Can Sew


22 comments:

  1. great idea - I must admit I have not heard of these

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  2. I have only recently heard of fidget quilts. What a great idea! That is so special that you made it for your friend's mother!

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  3. Very nice. I wish I had known about fidget quilts when my mother in law was alive and suffering from Alzheimer's. I would have loved to make one and see if she liked it.

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  4. Your Fidget Quilt is wonderful! Isn't that fabric so pretty - the one that looks like fireworks? I'm emailing your post to my daughter - she'll love it! Thank you for sharing!

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  5. not seen a fidget quilt before I made a roll for my brother when he had a massive heart attack last novmber once he was off life support but still all wired up and was trying to pull tubes out etc as he did not know what was happening, he did fiddle with it for a while but then his wife took it home!

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  6. It is so thoughtful of you Anja, and you have added so many different dimensions. My aunt has recently developed dementia, although I don't know what kind, I think I'll look into making one for her too.

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  7. This is so cool! I don't know what cave I've been hiding in, but I hadn't seen this before. Very cool!

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  8. Great job Anja! My guild is going to be making fidget quilts.

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  9. Not only is your fidget quilt functional but it's very attractive as well.

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  10. What a sweet gift to make for your friend. It looks like it has a lot of great items to explore to me!

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  11. I have seen knitted fidget cuffs but never a quilt. What a fantastic idea Anja

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  12. That's one of the prettiest Fidget Quilts I've seen. Nice work!!

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  13. Beautiful!!! I've made a couple for a friend who was making them for a senior centre. I did put a zipper in one of the block, just an idea for the future.

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  14. I learned something new today. I had never heard of a fidget quilt before! I think yours has lots of perfect things to fiddle with. :)

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  15. I think you did a great job picking fun stuff to add!

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  16. You did a great job picking out items to add to your fidget quilt. I also really really love that you used fun bright colors for your fabrics.

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  17. That's an abundance of different activities and textures. What a great gift for your friend's mother!

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  18. Great gift for your friends mom. It's perfect!

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  19. A wonderful gift.

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  20. Not only is your fidget quilt functional but it's very attractive as well.


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  21. What a great project, Anja!
    I did a pile of research on these a while ago as I was planning to make some for my grandmother's nursing home, but they had a bunch donated to them while I was still in the thinking and gathering materials stage. I became redundant, but one is still on my to-do list.
    Yours looks lovely. Some I saw were truly hideous!

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