26 April 2010

Modern Quilt Wall Art Tutorial

To my mind, a traditional quilt is pure folk art. Check out the amazing quilts at the American Folk Art Museum. When considering they were each hand-pieced...they are miracles to me. Especially the double wedding ring quilt pattern. The intersecting circles are visually stunning.

For my entry for Week 1 of SYTYC, I wanted to create an homage to the double wedding ring quilt. I chose traditional colors, red and white, but wanted to simplify the process and make the aesthetic available to anyone. So, here we go!



Gather the materials you'll need:

3/4 yard background fabric
3/4 yard cotton batting
2 red fat quarters
2 white fat quarters
heat n bond lite
scissors, rotary cutter and ruler are nice to have
thread
sewing machine
pattern


First, I drew my pattern.  I wanted a perfect circle, so I began with that.   

Pattern is ready.

Second step, prepare your backing materials.

Third step, prepare your applique pieces.
Be sure to label each piece so you don't get them mixed up.


Ready to assemble your "quilt block".
You might want to do the next step on your table with a couple towels underneath.  I found my ironing board was too skinny to hold everything in place.






Be sure to iron the applique from the back as well.

Step Three, top stitch your design.
I also drew designs in between the appliques as shown.


Fourth step, wash the design to "quilt" everything together.
I got this up on the wall, and decided it needed a little more stitching in the center.
If I hadn't been making this for a contest where it needed to be "anonymous", I might have stitched a letter "P".

Last step, frame your art.
My sweet brother in law, Sam, made the frame for me from pine one by fours.   

After 3 coats of spray paint, it looked like this:

Once the frame was dry, I got out my handy staple "gun" and carefully stretched the quilt into place.  I worked from the centers out.
I added the paper to protect the quilt from getting dirty or pushed in from the back.


And congratulations...you've completed a fun art/sewing/framing project!

Thanks again to each of you for your encouragement and support.  I appreciate it more than I can express.

Featured on Craft Gossip Quilting and One Pretty Thing
Linking up with Today's Creative Blog, Someday CraftsWomen Who Do It All, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Favorite Things, Along for the Ride, and Tatertots and  Jello.

14 happy thoughts:

Cheryl @ a pretty cool life. said...

Holy cow! Great tute! My quilting never gets any more sophistocated than squares!!

Lei said...

FABULOUS work, Chris!!!

Jess @ Frugal with a Flourish said...

That is a fantastic tute! LOVE how it turned out!

Scarlett Burroughs said...

Nicely done tutorial. I love it so much I linked to it here.

http://quilting.craftgossip.com/tutorial-double-wedding-ring-wall-art/2010/04/28/

Warmest regards,
Scarlett Burroughs
Quilting Editor, Craft Gossip

♥ meninheira ♥ said...

Hi from Spain Chris.
Thanks a lot for your friendly coment in my post about first sewing proyects for kids, I'm glad you like it.

Hugs
meni

Unknown said...

What a great project! My mom and aunt are both quilters of varying levels, and done similar squares to hang as art, a fab idea!

Michelle @ Sweet Something Design said...

Fantastic! What a great tute! I love how you've updated timeless quilting, great job!

The 3 Sisters said...

I wish I could sew! This looks amazing!

Best wishes,
Natasha.

Atticmag said...

What a super project you've done. It's one thing to take a remnant and frame it but you've truly created your own art. -- Jane F.

Jess said...

Wow that looks like a lot of work, but definitely worth it! Thanks for posting on Favorite Things Friday!

Allison @ House of Hepworths said...

Wow, that IS a lot of work, but so worth it!! Your quilt wall art is beautiful!

Thanks for Hookin' Up with me at my party!

Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures said...

It turned out great. It looks so intricate and hard. Thanks for giving all the steps. I saw you at Tater Tots and Jello Party.

restlessrisa said...

Wow... this is SO COOL. Thanks for the tutorial! Maybe I will attempt it, and have it out with my 4th of July decor. I love the colors. Thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed tutorial! I love it :)

<3

Risa

Laura said...

What a great project and a super tutorial!

Thank you for linking up to "Saturday is Crafty Day." I hope to see you back next week!

Post a Comment

How sweet of you to stop by. Kind words are always welcome.

Print
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...