In February, we began working on a collaborative quilt in MAKESHOP. I wrote about it almost two months ago here.
Here’s our update: it’s finished! It has been a true labor of love shared by so many people and an amazing learning experience. I wanted to share some updated photos of the process and getting it hung on the wall.
We began by cutting 5×5 inch squares out of scrap fabric. We provided fabric, buttons, thread and needles to our visitors. Each square that was created was completely different.
Eventually, all the squares needed to be sewn together. We used our sewing machines to make strips of squares, then we joined the strips together.
We had a quilting bee at the end of March. The actual quilting process means that the patched fabric on top is attached to a backing fabric, with a thin layer of batting between the front and the back.
The layers were temporarily joined with safety pins, and then permanently joined with knots of embroidery floss, which keep the layers sandwiched together. In the image below, you can see the batting hanging out the side. If you look carefully, you can see the safety pins and knots keeping the layer together.
The next step was to created a binding around the edges. We chose a navy blue border to frame the quilt. Sewing the binding on really made me realize how big the quilt was getting. It’s about 72 x 72 inches!
The final step was to get the museum’s Exhibits team to hang our big quilt. It was so fun to watch it be hoisted up on the MAKESHOP wall. As we were hanging it, we also realized how great it looked with the light shining through. Such beautiful colors.
We’ve had several visitors come in and spot their individual squares they’d sewn. So exciting to have your work featured in a museum!
