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Making a small art quilt…with fish!


I shared a set of four small quilts last week that I had made after a trip to the Smithsonian, specifically the museum of natural history. I always loved that one as a kid!

This week for Technique Tuesday, I thought you might be interested in some of the techniques used to construct these. They use small pieces of fabric, so they’re fun to do in between other projects. Mine are about 9 x 10 inches, and I often make up a bunch of patchwork tops at one time, as long as I’ve already got my machine out :-)

They’re also really fast to make, so you could possibly still find time to make a few for holiday gifts this year. Make them unique, with pictures that will be especially meaningful to your giftee!

1. Sew a small fabric quilt top, with a center panel large enough to accommodate the image you wish to use.

2. Print out your image on vellum. Spray with acrylic coating to stop smudges. Cover the image with contact paper, and spray the contact paper with 2 coats of matte varnish if it’s shiny. Set an eyelet in each corner.

3. Add a layer of batting and sew on buttons and beads with the appropriate weight floss or thread.

4. Add the backing fabric, pillowcase style, leaving one end open for turning. Turn the quilt.

5. Stitch on the vellum images, adding decorative stitches or buttons to each corner.

6. Add a row of stitching all the way around the quilt, creating a border and finishing off the turned-under open end.


Copyright 2006 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.


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