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Question of the Week

Question for the week of February 1, 1999:

Our question this week comes from Tricia

Can anyone tell me anything about bargello patchwork - and quick methods of doing it?

Eirian Thomas :
I've made quite a few bargello quilts, and they are really easy to make - a quick too - just don't do what I did, and end up with your first bargello project being 9feet by 6 feet!
I made a representation of the atlantic ocean, showing the mid-atlantic ridge - really good fun, but it turned out absolutely huge!
There was a really good book which I used, called "Bargello Quilts", by Marge Edie, published by That Patchwork Place - there have been follow up books since, but all the basics were in that.
The best part about bargello quilts is designing them yourself, and seeing your idea come alive - I'd definitely recommend having a go!!

Arlene Rogers :
I made a simple bargello design by doing the following. My work was based on a demonstration made in the TV show Simply Quilts. I cut seven different fabrics into strips and pieced these. The fabric can repeat, but you must use the same order each time. Then you slice the fabric into crosswise strips (7 different colors in one strip) This is where you set the width of the strip. You can cut them incrementally, 2", 1 1/2" , 1" or mix up the widths. Sew the strips into circles. You then have to determine color # 1. split the seam in the circle at the top of color one. The next strip is cut in the center of color # 1, the next strip is opened at the junction of color # 1 and #2. each time, sew the strips together. The seams of the first strip will match up with the mid-point of the next strip and so on. The colors will move up and down based on where you split the circle. It sounds confusing, but once you do it, it's not too bad. Mine came out great. Good Luck.

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