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Why Choose Patchwork Castle For Your Clothing Keepsake Commission?

Why choose Patchwork Castle for your clothing keepsake?
Editor’s note: This post is an update of a post from April 2017. It’s been updated for relevance and republished.

Memory quilts, memory blankets and other clothing keepsakes have been becoming more and more popular in the UK over recent years. When Patchwork Castle launched in 2011 there were very few memory quilt makers in the UK. It amazed me that this was the case as clothing keepsakes are a really wonderful way to preserve the special memories often held in items of clothing.

There are now many more clothing keepsake makers around – from micro businesses running from a kitchen table, to a couple of more formally organised business across the country. The products on offer also vary greatly in their nature – simple patchwork blankets, cushions, traditional patchwork quilts, bears etc. There is also a lot of variation in quality and hugely varying price points.

If you’re looking to commission a clothing keepsake then it can be tricky to know what to look for and who to trust with your very special memories. Our previous post on Commissioning a Memory Quilt gives you a checklist of things to look for. In this post we’ll share a little more about how we do things here at Patchwork Castle. Whoever you choose to make your clothing keepsake we hope you love your special treasure!

Clothing keepsakes from Patchwork Castle

Here at Patchwork Castle we’ve been creating beautiful clothing keepsakes for over 11 years. It’s our aim to produce high quality products that exceed your expectations.

Our memory quilts are traditionally made patchwork quilts (quilted through all layers) which is still quite a rarity among memory quilt makers. Over the years we’ve developed and adopted specialist techniques for working with clothing to create beautiful patchwork with a premium finish. 

Children's baby clothes keepsake memory quilts
Signature Mosaic baby clothes memory quilts

A small specialist team – our clothing keepsake creators

To help keep our commitment to quality and service we limit the number of commissions we accept, and deliberately keep the team making your patchwork small. We’ll never outsource your clothing keepsakes to a non-specialist maker or factory.

Your memory quilt or keepsake cushion will be made by our small, carefully selected team who all take great pride in creating your keepsakes – we know there are no second chances with your treasured clothes! Our patchwork artists have been carefully selected for their exceptional sewing skills, eye for design and because they know it’s about more than just the fabric.

Beautiful, bespoke design

We combine professional technical skills with beautiful artistry, and won’t skimp on the details that make your keepsake extra special. The design and creation of each memory quilt and keepsake cushion is approached individually. Every patch in your memory quilt and keepsake cushion is carefully selected and placed, and design layouts are adjusted to to make the very best of the clothing provided.

baby clothes keepsake quilt and cushion
Memory quilt and keepsake cushions made from baby clothing and cot bumpers

Clothing keepsakes from baby and children’s clothes

Our baby clothes quilts capture all the cute features that make those clothes so appealing. We’ll go the extra mile to use motifs and appliques, frills and necklines, button runs and pockets. Choose from our All Squared Up or Signature Mosaic layouts to suit your taste, and our gorgeous range of backing fabrics to complete the look.

Clothing keepsakes from adult clothes

For adult clothing keepsakes, we’ve a wider range of designs. These are selected because we know they work particularly well with the variety of fabrics and features in adult clothing. The design you choose is brought to life through the skillful use of the clothing you provide. We balance the colours, textures, features and patterns in the clothing to create a beautiful and unique keepsake.

T-shirt keepsake clothing quilt
T-shirt keepsake quilt from adult clothes

A High Quality Product

We only use top quality materials in our memory quilts and keepsake cushions. 100% cotton patchwork fabrics, premium cotton quilt wadding, good quality threads and luxury cushion fillers.

All our memory quilts are securely machine quilted across the whole quilt and finished with double-fold binding, double stitched to ensure a long life. Our patchwork keepsake cushions are fully lined and the internal seam allowances are professionally finished so they will not fray. We use an invisible zip for a perfect finish.

Adding names or special features to your keepsake

We offer two main ways to add a name or message to your clothing keepsakes. All our children’s and baby clothes quilts come with a name applique. These are constructed to our own hand drawn alphabet pattern, and created from the clothing you supply. Our Personalised Keepsake Patchwork Cushion has the child’s name as it’s main feature.

For adult clothes keepsakes, we can add embroidered panels with any message you choose. These are created using freehand machine embroidery (like handwriting on your patchwork), and can even be created to replicate a loved one’s handwriting on the keepsake.

Adult clothing quilt with embroidered patch reading 'Forever in my heart xxx'
Cushion made from a shirt with embroidered patch in replicated handwriting

Here For You

Finally, we’re here for you! We approach each commission with a personal touch. This is your special keepsake, just let us know your ideas and we will do our very best to take account of any requests and ideas you might have.

 “Words cannot express how over the moon and pleased I was when I received my quilt and cushions. The workmanship is absolutely stunning, the quilt is so beautifully crafted and so tactile, and the finishing superb. I couldn’t be happier that I now have a totally unique and priceless memory to keep forever”

Find out more

You might like to read our post on Commissioning a Memory Quilt for more details on the specifics and a checklist of what to look for when choosing your clothing keepsake maker.

Over to you

Please do contact us with any questions, or to discuss your clothing keepsake ideas. You can also join the discussion and see completed clothing keepsake creations on our Facebook page.

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Thanks for reading!

Chris & Millie x

  
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