World Wide Quilting Page

Question of the Week

Question for the week of July 10, 2000:

Our question this week comes from Beth P

My 4/5/6th grade multi-age students would like to make a quilt - I would appreciate all suggestions/experiences that would help make the project simple, fun and rewarding.

lynne :
I've done several fabric crayon/signature block quilts with kids. (grades K-3) Give them 10X10 piece of bleached muslin or white cotton taped to cardboard or ironed on to freezer paper. Children then color a self-portrait or theme picture and your job is to sew it together in an interesting design. This year we did a "Great Outdoors" quilt with patterns of wildlife, leaves and trees ironed to "wonder-under" and placed on dark green block. I add the kids names with fabric marker. These quilts are raffled to classmembers (just so I can get money to do the next quilt) and then hopefully treasured forever. Since I am working mostly with 2nd graders we don't sew but older kids could learn the basics of piecing and sewing I think. There are many good quilting with kids books--Quilting Activities Across the Curriculum by Scholastic is one. Also check the About.com quilting site. Get mothers to help or better yet your quilting group. It's great fun!

Kristine in Alaska :
I saw an article in McCall's Quilting Aug. '00. It was titled Sew Much Love and was about teaching a variety of children to quilt in an after-school program. Not a very detailed article on the how, but enough to give you ideas, I think. I hope this helps!

caroline :
I would have the students choose a theme, e.g. fish in the sea, or pets, etc. Have them draw a picture of the subject. Then show them how to applique to a background.
Or make square or rectangular templates (show them how) . Have a colour scheme, have them collect fabric for the squares or rectangles . Have the moms bring sewing machines to school and show the kids how to put everything together,
Probably teaching would involve history, math, geography, art, any number of subjects. Hang the finished quilt in the auditorium, or hall or auction it for something needed at the school.
Wish I were helping you. Caroline.

Beth :
How about making a quilt of the state that you
live in. I am presently doing one of NJ and it
has been fun collecting the materials for all
of the things related to NJ. Karin from NJ

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