100 Good Wishes Quilt

We are making a quilt for both Emily and Alice. It is based on a tradition which exists in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei (a.k.a. 100 Good Wishes Quilt). The family invites friends and family to contribute a square of cloth along with their wish for the baby. Part of the square goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part goes into a scrapbook with the wish for the child. It is said that the quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from everyone who contributed a piece of fabric.

The adoption community has grasped this idea and we often do a quilt square swap with various of the Yahoo groups we are part of. Along with the fabric that is used for the quilt you send a "wish" on a card with your name and address and a small piece of the material. These cards can be put in a scrapbook and when the child is older they can enjoy looking through their Wishes book and match the materials to the quilt and where the fabric came from. Many of us will collect squares and wishes from our family and friends as well. This tradition shows our children just how much they were loved before they even arrived home, and becomes a special heirloom for them.

So if you would like to participate then you can send a piece of fabric which is either- 7”x 7” rotary cut square. If you are cutting the fabric by hand, please cut 8”x8” squares to allow for variance in cutting.



Some tips:
· Choose a 100% cotton fabric that you like.
· The wishes themselves can be just a heartfelt thought you dream up, a famous or not-so-famous quote, song lyrics, scripture passages, a family recipe, …you name it as long as you feel it will be uplifting to the child and family.
· It should include a small snippet of the fabric you used for the squares. That way, our children will be able to match it up to the quilt when they are older.
· There is a lot of personal choice in how to present the wishes. Theoretically, put the wish and a 1x1 square of the included fabric on a 3x5 or 5x7 card. It can be as plain or as fancy as you want to make it. You can hand write it, computer print it, use scrapbook supplies, scan the fabric and color print it on the paper, use cardstock, use stickers, use stamps.... it is completely up to you.

For some ideas of completed quilts, go to