What is an art quilt, and what does it take to make an art quilt? To understand that, it’s helpful to understand first what makes a quilt a quilt.
Traditional Quilts were Made for Warmth and Comfort
A quilt consists of fabric and batting, layered into a "sandwich" which is fastened together with stitching. The stitched-together fabric sandwich is what makes a quilt a quilt.
Quilts were traditionally designed to keep people warm while they slept, and they were made from whatever fabrics the quilter had on hand – worn out shirts, pants, dresses, and blankets, homespun linen and wool, or costly chintz and calico. Traditional quilts fall into three basic groups:
- Whole cloth quilts, where the stitching that holds the quilt together is the focus of the design.
- Pieced quilts, where pieces of cloth are cut and sewed together, or pieced, to form an interesting pattern.
- Appliqué quilts, where designs are created by sewing pieces of cloth onto a base fabric.
Art quilts can be made with any or all of these techniques. In that case, what distinguishes an art quilt from a traditional quilt? The main difference is in the quilter’s intention.
Art Quilts Aim to Create an Aesthetic Experience
The primary main goal of an art quilt is not to keep people cozy, but to provoke an aesthetic or emotional response. Like paintings and sculptures in museums, art quilts are made primarily to be looked at and responded to with the heart and mind.
Using the quilter’s medium of layered fabric, art quilters combine traditional quilting techniques with concepts and techniques borrowed from graphic design and the fine arts. Contemporary art quilters use painting, printing, photography, collage, sculpture, jewelry-making, beading, and many other techniques to make quilts that speak to the viewer.
The styles and themes of today’s art quilts are as widely varied as the art being produced in other media. The essential element all art quilts share is fabric. Without fabric, they wouldn’t be quilts.
Can an Ordinary Quilter Be an Art Quilter?
While many art quilters have been formally trained in the arts, it’s definitely possible to make a memorable art quilt without going to art school or having any formal training. Start small with a wall hanging or even a fabric postcard, look through books or magazines with images that inspire you, and pick a single image to work with. Think about different ways to transfer that image onto a quilt.
For instance, suppose you chose to work with the image of a tree. Here are just a few different ways to turn the image into an art quilt:
- Draw a tree on fabric backed with fusible web, cut out the shape, and appliqué it to a base fabric.
- Stamp a tree onto the fabric with a rubber stamp.
- Take a photograph of a tree and print it onto a printable fabric sheet.
- Use free-motion embroidery to draw a tree onto the quilt.
- Paint a tree onto the quilt with fabric paints.
- Draw a tree on the quilt with Shiva paint sticks.
- Embroider beads or buttons onto the quilt in a tree shape.
- Back fabric scraps with fusible web, cut the scraps into little pieces and collage a tree onto the quilt.
Try any or all of these techniques. Mix and match them. Before you know it, you’ve created a genuine art quilt! It’s really that simple.
Resources for Getting Started with Art Quilting
In recent years, there’s been an explosion of art quilt classes, books, magazines, and other helpful resources for anyone who would like to try making an art quilt.
- Many local quilt shops offer classes in art quilting.
- Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines both showcase a variety of art quilting techniques, many of which are easy enough for first-time art quilters.
- Elin Waterston and Jane Davila’s book, Art Quilt Workbook (C&T Publishing, 2007, ISBN #978-1-57120-377-9) and DVD, Jane Davila and Elin Waterston Teach You Art Quilting Basics (C&T Publishing, 2008, ISBN #978-1-57120-620-6), are both helpful guides with exercises that help new art quilters get started.
Even the most traditional or timid quilter has everything it takes to make an art quilt. The only thing required is fabric and the intention to make a quilt that inspires, provokes, surprises, or stimulates the onlooker.
If you liked this article, you may also like:
- Brief History of Contemporary Art Quilts. Art quilts are quite a recent development in the centuries-long history of quilting. Here is the story of how quilts went from bed tops to gallery and museum walls.
- How to Get Started Painting on Fabric. A simple way for quilters, sewers, scrapbookers, and other artists to embellish and alter clothing, quilts, home decor, or just about any fabric item.
- Color Theory Basics for Sewing and Quilting. Learn which fabric colors work best together, and how to choose pleasing color combinations for sewing or quilting.
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