Sleep with Wishes

My mother is a tailor, she will use the shredded clothes to sewing quilt for us.

Honestly, I'm very dislike this shredded-clothes-quilt and think it is ugly until I found out the meaning behind this quilt.


In Chinese tradition, to sewing a blanket by using shredded clothes is called Bai-Jia-Bei （百家被）, 100 Good Wishes Quilts.

It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby as welcome and celebrate a new life.
The quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all those contributed a piece of fabric, and the quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

Although this is a Chinese tradition, it is a great tradition for any child to be welcomed this way, so that I am got to introduce you guys the making of Bai-Jia-Bei, what a treat to read a good wishes when the child is older to know how much they were wanted!

Here are some pictures of Bai-Jia-Bei I search from net. The bottom right is the most simple and easy to make, it is making from square fabrics, you may either hand-sewing it or use sewing machine. And the bottom up and right pictures is the quilt in hexagon, and mostly people will do hand-sewing it as it will be nicer. 

  

Here is my pictures of making the 100 Good Wishes Quilt. I was made my very first hexagon Bai-Jia-Bei on 2006, that is after my SPM and having the 3 months holiday. I do this all because from the require from mom and I am dislike to do sewing job and now I gotta do it by hand but not machine.     

I am here to do a fast making procedure as it is really simple =]

Cut the papers into hexagon and shredded clothes in square.

- The size of hexagon is flexible, you can choose it bigger or smallest as you like -

-The shredded clothes must bigger than the paper hexagon -

 

Edge-folding the shredded clothes on the paper and sewing around to make sure shredded clothes in shape

After done all single shredded clothes into hexagon, sewing them to stitch together by the way as below

- while sewing, the shaped-hexagon-shredded-clothes should be set as front-surface-to-front-surface-

Photo from web

After a few weeks work, here my result of Bai-Jia-Bei

I'm sorry to show such ugly hand-sewing

As I'm still fresh on hand-sewing, I still can't figure out how to make it in a better pattern

So, just simple combine them in large piece 

Bottom of this three picture is the back side of the quilt, yea, the paper is still there 

Remove all the paper and take off all the thread which you did at the second part

And now, we are going to the final stage

Sewing all the four-side by a bigger fabric and also the whole back-side of quilt

Photo from web

Here is the nicer example of modern 100 Good Wishes Quilt

Older generation will use shredded clothes or patch of cloth, the clothes might from the grandparents' clothes, parents clothes, or even own old clothes. 

Pictures above are the record of my second hand-sewing Bai-Jia-Bei on my life. 

From does not like the quilt made by shredded clothes, and now love to hand-sewing it, all because of the story behind the quilt and the satisfaction when I using my hand-sewing quilt every night. 

So, I decide to make more the quilt to present for every family member. And sure, I will challenge to make nicer pattern like people do. 

*click on image to enlarge

by Lim Jeng Nian, Jeffney @ ifunblock