How to Make a Pictorial Applique Quilt of Your Town

This type of quilt is unique and very personal. A good time to begin working on one is about 1 year before your town has a bicentennial or other major event. Usually, communities come together in social groups to work on the blocks that will make up a pictorial history of your region or town. The resulting quilt is called a "historical pictorial" because members of the community come together to create it. The quilt can be displayed at the Town Hall, the local library or some other community gathering place.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fabric
• Applique needle
• Applique thread
• Embroidery thread
• Pictures of your town

1. 

   Decide what you want your pictorial quilt to depict. Usually, a group of quilters gets together and makes this decision via a democratic vote. Make lists with headings, such as historic churches, historic houses, important events, important people and major industries in the area. Give each category a certain number of blocks.

2. 

   Choose the size of the quilt you will make. Are you planning a wall hanging or a bed quilt? A wall hanging should be square, while a bed covering should be rectangular. Also, determine the size of each block. The blocks should ideally be between 14 and 18 inches square.

3. 

   Draw designs for each block. There are many ways to find help with drawing. Use outdoor magazines to find pictures of nature. Greeting cards and children's books work well for simple representations of clothing and houses. Coloring books are another great resource. The pictures are easy to trace and reproduce. To reproduce pictures of people, use a newspaper ad. Find a picture of a face and trace the features onto a piece of paper.

4. 

   Choose colors for the quilt. It is best to be conservative with colors. You want the focus to be on the historical pictures, not on fancy, wild colors. Choose several shades of green and brown, and one shade of blue (for the sky). These are the staple colors and should be bought at the same time, to keep the dye lot the same. Choose a dark brown, red or blue for the bands around each block.

5. 

   Add borders to each block. These borders will form bands around the blocks that serve to frame each "picture." These bands should be at least 1-½ inches. Or you can choose to alternate your pictorial blocks with blocks that have names of significant places or dates embroidered on them.

6. 

   Display the quilt in a public place after completion. Many towns will move the quilt from place to place each month so the public can enjoy it more. Another way to share the quilt is to prepare a small booklet that depicts each block, with corresponding historical references.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose basic broadcloth for the blocks. Use embroidery thread for small details, such as flowers and facial features. Use a French knot to represent snow.
• Avoid textured fabric. Experience quilters shy away from short cuts such as furs and corduroy. Use embroidery to depict detail.

Resources

• Applique Basics
• Free Applique Patterns