World Wide Quilting Page

Question of the Week

Question for the week of April 21, 1997:

Our question this week comes from Holly Powers

How does one learn to design quilts?

dora :
by using your imaganation, and of course always pick something that like.

Charlie Brown :
I see an idea in the fabrics, and then sit down here at the computer. I use EQ3 and QuiltSoft 4 and let my fingers do the planning. EQ3 is great and possibilities are endless. It is so much easier than graph paper and/or the old fashioned way of trial and error. The time it saves is valuable quilting time. I have "made" hundreds of quilts on my computer, and finished over twenty in the real famrics and threads. Warning, computer quilting is addicting!

Sue Duthweiler :
Don't worry about making your first few quilts "designer" quilts. Perhaps you could "ease" into quilt design by finding two or three patterns that you really like. Think about what you like about each pattern and think of ways you could combine them into a single quilt. After you've done that, you'll find that your designs will become more and more original.

Julie Coghill :
I pretty much use math and variations on
some very basic principles of art that
relate to math. I've written a bunch of
stuff about this and have it on my web
page, free to read. I have two photos
up of a design I call "permutation
puzzlers." I thought it up when I needed
something simple to sew (I could barely
sew) but challenging to me designwise.
http://www2.polarnet.com/~rcoghill/

Kayce Corey :
Just by doing it! Try designing blocks on graph paper with colored pencils or sketching for picture quilts. Classes can help, but experience is the best teacher.

Kyra :
To learn to design is to learn to listen to one's self. I know that for some this can be a very difficult process. We are taught throughout our lives to repress and live by others standards, the risk taking and boldness of our youth fades. I feel that if you can get even the smallest bit of that "I can do anything" feeling back you will be opening the door to design. I am doing more and more with original work, and am also learning more about myself and my potential. Allow yourself to take chances and work with whatever design source and wierd color combonations you want. You only really need to please yourself, chances are others will see and appreciate what you have to offer. The worst thing that can happen is you will need to make another quilt, if you are anything like me, that is not too much of a strain. You can do anything if you just give yourself a chance.

Linda Brandau :
I like to begin with graph paper and color pencils and just experiment on paper with designs and colors.

Anthony :
All of the above. Plus there are some really fine books that speak to the more technical aspects of design. Some that are particularly helpful to me are "Inspiration Oddessy" by Diana Swim Wessel, "Fabric Makes the Quilt" by Roberta Horton, and both "The Magical Effects of Color" and "The Visual Dance" by Joen Wolfram. I started by taking pictures from books, and holiday cards, and ads and trying to translate those ideas into designs or color schemes that I could execute in fabric. As your confidence builds, you'll naturally gravitate to working in some of the ideas that you have in your head. Good luck and have fun. It's the journey, not the destination.

Deb :
Tough question! I kind of design mine in a backwards way. I usually choose simple patterns, and then see what I have on hand in the way of fabric. The most inspirational part is that I usually don't have enough and have to figure something else out. Out of this hodge podge process, I have to create, move, and solve problems.
I rarely follow a pattern from a book, or buy specific fabric for a project. But, in the end I know I have something that I have created myself... a small bit of myself sewn into it. I hope this makes sense and helps! Happy quilting!

Terry Durst :
The best way I know is practical experience - just do it. I just completed 11 months of work on my first original design. It was inspired by my sister telling me she was getting engaged. While we spoke, I formulated an idea for a quilt I wanted to make for her wedding gift. That was Memorial Day weekend 1996. I drew out my concept on graph paper. Then as I got a better idea of what I wanted to do with the concept, I started to collect fabrics for the quilt top. I ended up with all the fabric staying in one bag while I still mulled over the final design for months. I went ahead and started piecing the top together 4 weeks before the wedding. (Nothing like giving yourself lots of time!) It was machine pieced, machine appliqued, and machine quilted. It was also a queen-size bed quilt. Believe it or not, I had it completed the night before we were to fly out for the wedding. The rave reviews from my family and my sister's friends were heart-warming, since none of them are quilters and none of them were critical of my work. If you have an idea for a quilt you want to make, then just do it. The experience taught me a lot about what I will and will not repeat in my next original design.

Heather Hurlbert :
Quilting is art and with all art there is no right or wrong way to do anything. To design a quilt is to create something out of your hands with your imagination as a guide. Books, classes, and lessons may help you but true design is made with passion not rules.

jan smith Pittsburgh, Pa :
I learned may patterns by looking at many trade magazines, and by participating in " block of the month" from as many sources I could. While you may look at them, you may remember them, however, when you reproduce the pattern in a block, the pattern is embeded in your mind! " Was it easy to do, was it hard? What did I learn from making it?" are the questions I ask myself. Also one can truely learn to be crerative through the study of the original designs. Once you understand the basics, you can gallop away with a strong foundation!

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