Sunday, August 23, 2009

How to Make a Square

Making a square is easy! In fact, it doesn't have to be quilted or sewn at all...

Subject:
Think of something you really love about life on Earth. It could be an animal, a place, a person (a child, grandchild, someone from six generations in the future), a symphony, a piece of art or architecture, a book, an iceberg, a language, a particular plant or tree... something that is unique to Earth that you want to continue into the future. Your square of the quilt will be a tribute to that beloved entity.


Size:
Create your square however you like (you could even write on an old sheet with a sharpie) on a piece of non-stretchy, easy to sew cloth (like an old sheet, a piece of painter's canvas, etc.). The dimensions of the decorated part can be two different sizes, either:

2 feet X 4 feet (that's 24 inches X 48 inches, 60.96 centimeters X 121.92 centimeters) PLEASE ADD AN *EXTRA* INCH ALL AROUND for sewing the pieces together.

OR

2 feet X 2 feet (24 X 24 inches, 60.96 X 60.96 centimeters) WITH AN *EXTRA* INCH ALL AROUND.

Please leave a little extra room (a few centimeters or an inch) on all sides of the decoration for easy sewing together.


Materials:
As noted above, the square should be made out of non-stretchy cloth. Please consider the process of piecing all of the squares together and refrain from using any fabric that is particularly fragile or fussy to sew. When it is finished, it should also be foldable.

Other than that, it's up to you what you do with the fabric! It doesn't have to be a recognizable or even beautiful image, just something that is important to you. It doesn't even have to be an image, it could be a poem or a prayer or a piece of writing for or about your subject. (It would be great for the quilt as a whole piece of art if your square is colorful, but again, its up to you.)

Here are some ideas:

* Paint on it with waterproof paint
* Draw or write on it with permanent markers
* Use dyes
* Spray paint or stencil on it
* Batik your square
* Fingerpaint!
* Make a big cut out stamp out of piece of cardboard and stamp it onto your square
* Quilt it the traditional way, by sewing pieces of fabric together to make a pattern
* Make a collage (you can attach anything you want to it as long as it's durable and not heavy, for example, no rocks, large pieces of metal, etc)
* Sew your subject onto your square in cool beads or buttons
* Have a photo printed on it
* Silkscreen your square
* Any and all creative possibilities you want to share in a comment to this post!

Next Steps:
Tell all of your friends to make a square, too!
Please see the post What To Do With Your Finished Square for next steps...


2 comments:

  1. You should hook up with blankettheglobe.org, which is already 2500 squares strong!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi,
    Can you use some help in sewing the squares on? If so, who do I contact about this?
    Thanks,
    Toni

    ReplyDelete