Easy Strippy Hippo Quilt

Hi Quilting Friends,

We always enjoy hearing from other quilters, and love to have suggestions for new designs. A few months ago we received a request that sounded interesting to us.

Mark had seen our designs on Etsy, and they reminded him of a baby quilt that he had loved as a child, which featured a hippopotamus who was wearing overalls. Mark wondered if we would be able to make a custom applique drawing for him, in order to re-create the original quilt. Here are the designs that inspired his request:

Hippopotamus Ballerina by Ms P Designs USA

Susan decided to say “Yes” to creating this custom drawing, as Mark requested. She got out her drawing tools and came up with this cute little guy:

Mark was SO happy and excited that we were able to help him out with his request. But the story doesn’t end there. . .

Susan is our “Fabric Acquisition Expert”, and she loves to browse the internet in search of the perfect fabrics for our new designs. Susan came across this line of nursery fabric that was perfect for a new nursery quilt with a cute little hippo applique, so she did some quick calculations and placed her order! Here’s the quilt that Susan created:

This quilt design is easy-peasy, perfect for building the skills of a beginning quilter! If you’re a more experienced quilter, this quilt goes together quickly and would make a lovely gift for the new baby in your world. (This little quilt went to “live” with a dear friend of our parents, who had a new baby boy in March.)

The finished hippo applique block is framed with a cute print, and then surrounded by strips of fabrics. Additional strips of fabric add length to the quilt, and it is all finished off with a cute printed border. Isn’t it adorable!

Of course, you’re not limited to the “Hippo in Overalls” applique (which comes with the pattern) for your design options. You could use any of the adorable applique blocks from Ms P’s Pattern Shop to coordinate with your fabric choices and personalize the quilt for the recipient.

If you’d like to make your own “Hippo in Overalls” nursery quilt, the pattern is available to purchase!