Tutorial: Hoffman Fabrics 'A is for Alligator' Wholecloth Quilt

A dear friend of mine wanted to give her gorgeous baby girl a handmade gift - one that would become a timeless treasure. She related to me the quilts her mother-in-law made for her hubby when he was growing up and she felt that she wanted a gift such as lovely for her own daughter. She wanted to try hand quilting, but didn't have a quilt to try it on. So I decided to help her out by putting together a simple wholecloth quilt kit for her which consisted of:
1) a ready-to-quilt wholecloth quilt
2) hand quilting needles
3) coordinating hand quilting thread

Everything would be ready for her to start hand quilting! Yey. She was ecstatic when she saw her kit and I'm so glad she loved it. Thanks for your support, dear. :)

Well, I thought I'd share a tutorial on how to make a simple wholecloth quilt. This is my first tutorial, so please bear with me! My friend specifically requested for a toddler-sized quilt, but you can do this for any size. I love 100% cotton quilts, so I used premium ingredients - 100% cotton designer fabrics, Warm & Natural cotton batting, and Gutermann 100% cotton thread.

Ingredients:
1.5 yards of fabric for the quilt top
1.5 yards of fabric for the quilt backing (I actually used 1 yard of coordinating pink fabric and 0.5 yard of coordinating green fabric, both from Hoffman's 'A is for Alligator' line)
1.5 yards of warm & natural cotton batting
coordinating thread

NOTE: Seam allowances are 1/4", unless otherwise stated.

Steps:
1) Preparing the backing: If you are using a wholecloth for your backing, you can skip this step. Since I used 2 different fabrics for the backing, I had to sew the pieces together. I cut the 0.5 yard of green fabric into 2 pieces which then measured 0.25 yard each and sewed each piece onto opposite sides of the pink fabric and pressed the seams. Not sure if that made sense, so I think you should refer to the pic below.


2) Layering the quilt: Put the batting on a smooth and flat surface (such as a clean floor or bed) and smooth out any wrinkles. Then, with the WRONG side of the backing facing the batting, lay the backing on top of the batting. Next, with RIGHT sides together, lay the quilt top on top of the backing. The 3 layers should be the same size, so trim away any excess fabric/batting. Now, pin the 3 layers together. Using a 1/4" seam, sew the layers together leaving a 12" opening on one side for turning the quilt right side out.

3) a tada moment (because you get to see your almost finished project - yey!): Turn your quilt right side out through the 12" opening. Then, on each edge of the 12" opening, turn 1/4" under toward the wrong side and press. Now, pin the opening closed.

4) Topstitching the quilt edges: Topstitch 1/4" from the outside edges of the quilt, consequently closing the 12" opening.

5) Quilt as desired.

And you're all done! Yey! (I think I say that too many times...lol)  Share with me your lovely wholecloth quilts :)