Art Quilt Tutorial

Here's a brief tutorial for the art quilts I made for my daughter's school. These instructions are for a quilt that measures approximately 65"x72".

Supplies:
White quilter's cotton - 2 yards
Solid coloured backing fabric - 4 yards
Printed fabric - 2 yards
Thread
Quilt batting (cotton is best, but polyester is economical)
Fabric paints

Cutting:
White quilter's cotton - 30 6.5" squares
Solid backing fabric - 20 3.5" squares
Solid backing fabric - 2 45"x90" pieces
Solid backing fabric - 8 yards of 2" wide binding
Printed fabric - 50 6.5"x3.5" rectangles
Printed fabric - 8 45"x3.5" strips

Instructions:

1. Paint white squares with whatever theme you desire. Make sure that the squares have a 1/2" allowance on all sides, because some fabric paints are difficult to sew.


2. When squares are dry, lay them out on a flat surface. Organize them so that they are visually appealing.


3. Sew everything together, using a 1/4" seam allowance. When I made my quilts, I sewed the five art squares across, then the separator strips, then assembled the quilt tops. The order of the piecing doesn't really matter. Do whatever is most convenient for you.


4. Sew top/bottom sashing and side sashing together. Line up centers with the center of the quilt, then trim excess. I sewed on the side sashing first, then the top & bottom.


5. Sew quilt backing pieces together.


6. Lay everything out on a flat surface. I like to pin things down on the floor. First, pin down the backing, then lay batting on top, making sure there are no wrinkles or creases. Next, lay the pieced quilt top down, lining up the center of the quilt top with the seam in the backing. Pin everything together, then baste together.


7. Apply quilt binding.


8. Finish the quilt in your preferred method. I like to stitch in the ditch, but these quilts were hand tied with yarn.

Art Quilts

My daughter's school is having their second annual art auction this Thursday. Back in November, the principal asked me if I'd sew together three art quilts for the auction. I agreed to do it since it looked like such a fun project.

I picked up fabric right away and cut out plain white squares which were given to the science teacher to be painted by her students (4th grade, if I'm not mistaken).

Over the winter and early Spring, I mentioned to Mr. G that I'd need to start on the quilts a few times, but the painted squares weren't done yet. Fast forward to the middle of May. I finally got the painted squares, with only 2 1/2 weeks to get them sewn together for the auction. Eep!

Ten days of frantic sewing, and the quilts are finished. I'll be putting together a tutorial on the quilts soon, since I've had a few people ask how they're done. They're really beginner's quilts, but they turn out very nicely, if I do say so myself.

Insect themed quilt:


Ocean themed quilt:


Amoeba themed quilt:

Sorry about the funny angle on this one. There was nobody home to take a picture for me, so I had to stand on the bed.