My First Bargello!
 

Hi everyone! This is my first attempt at a bargello quilt. I didn't include any twists, since it was daunting enough to deal with all those strips! This has 29 different fabrics, going from burnt orange to bright white (and back). I think it turned out really nice :)
I had a little trouble with the backing. Usually I like to have extra and just fold over the back for the binding (one less step), but I was short on the measurements (I pre-wash the fabric, and it shrunk way more than I expected!) and barely had enough to cover the back, let alone fold over. Luckily, I had accidentally bought too much one one of my fabrics, and had just enough (I mean I had about 6" of a strip left when I was done!) for binding. It was more work, but I think I prefer the small binding border around the edge.

Let me know what you think! I hand-embroidered a patch on the back of the quilt with my name, the year I finished the quilt, and the title. Is there anything else people usually include in a label (for future reference)? I plan on sending along care instructions to whoever I end up sending it to.

It's gorgeous--looks like a sunset viewed near the beach. I really like the binding.

I agree it looks like sunset - it makes me want to go on vacation!

That is gorgeous! Love the flow! I hope to do one someday.

Wow. That is a gorgeous breathtaking quilt. Good luck with selling it!

That is beautiful. I love the colors too.

Very beautiful, your colors are like the sunset.

Thanks, everyone! I was hoping for a sunset feel when I was picking out the fabric. If I had it to do over, I might switch up some of the order in the fading, but overall I think it's a solid first attempt at blending!

Wow-It's beautiful!!

Beautifully done. Love the sunset colors and it looks so nice on the bed. Good Job!

These are my kind of colors. This is lovely.

it really is beautiful! i am having a lady embroider two labels for me. all i have on them is the name of the quilt, my name, and the month and year i finished it. it really is gorgeous!

Pretty quilt-bright and cheery.

I like your colour range...

Wow! I love bargellos and I love yours. You've done a beautiful job with it. The binding looks great.

I put my town and state on my quilts along with name, date, and title. If it's for someone else, I give a brief dedication.

Beautiful! I love the colors.

OH WOW! It is beautiful. I Love, Love, Love it. I love orange & it is so bright & cheery. It is truly my kind of quilt. I just had a B-day & have an Anniversary coming up in a few days. HINT! HINT! (Just kidding) No I'm not. Yes I am. You done good girl. You should be proud.

It's gorgeous. Love the color combinations.

My mom would love that she likes orange. so cheerful.

Beautiful! Makes me smile!

I absolutely love this one! Orange is my favorite color and I love Bargellos. You can feel free to send it my way (then you don't have to worry about sending along care instructions either lol)
Simply Stunning. Thank you for sharing.
Hugs
April
Who resides at:
1.......

That is one of the most beautiful quilts ive seen!! Should put it in a quilt show! Id love to have one sooo beautiful! Ill attempt it one day!!

So pretty...reminds me of Tequila Sunrise!

oh my, is that beautiful, so cheerful

I agree 100%! This is one beautiful quilt! I don't think I've ever seen this version of bargello. Where did you find the pattern? It's fabulous! And I think the binding is perfect!

That is gorgeous!

Ha! You just made my day :D

I saw a pattern like this in a friend's quilting magazine. It was called paint by numbers, but the pattern was for a much smaller quilt, like a moderately-sized wall hanging. After reading up on bargellos, I knew I didn't want to try one of the twist and turn ones for my first attempt, so I adapted the paint by numbers quilt to be large.

If anyone wants to try, it's very simple. You need 29 strips of fabric for one row (they can be all different or you can repeat some). The strips are 3" wide plus seam allowance (I use a 3/8" seam on my large quilts since they'll be pulled and used a lot - that made my strips 3.75" wide). Stitch them all together lengthwise, and then stitch the ends together to make a hoop of fabric. Collapse the fabric hoop in half, then cut strips perpendicular to the seams you just made. This quilt needs 21 rows cut at 3" (plus seam allowance) and 16 rows cut at 1.5" (plus seam allowance). Now you end up with many many fabric "belts". To start, choose a color from one of the 3" belts and rip the seam next to it. Rip one seam over on the next fabric belt, and sew them right sides together. Next, rip the seam one after the previous rip (you're making the colors move over one spot every time). Of course you should be pressing the seams since the beginning, and continue when you're putting it together. Continue until you have 7 rows of 3" x 3" squares. Then switch to the skinny fabric belts, but continue the seam ripping progression. Do 8 rows of the 1.5" x 3" squares. Now go back to the fat belts, and do 7 more rows, then 8 of the skinny, and finally 7 last rows of the fat belts. If you add a 3" (plus seam allowance) border, you'll have a 90" x 90" quilt!

Make sure you're matching all the block edges when you're sewing the strips together. If you start getting off by little bits, you'll end up with uneven columns and you'll loose the bargello effect :)

I'm with you with the binding. It is really nice. The border is perfect. Beautiful sunset colors. I'll send you my address since you don't know whom you're giving it to in case you can't think of somebody to give it to. :) Great job. I know all about sweating bullets when I'm running out of binding near the end. I made a quilt for my grandson and had a small 6 inch square piece of fabric left over. I was holding my breath over that one.

I wouldn't give it to anyone! I would leave it on that bed! It is gorgeous there.

Very nice; well done!!

Very pretty, reminds me of Candy Corn!

Believe me, I'm tempted. But selling it means I can afford to make the next quilt...:p

Nicely done! Very bright and cheery!

I love your colors and quilt!

I like it. Reminds me of the sunset. Good job.

It makes me think of a beautiful sunset. bet t is even prettier in person.

I think it is a beautiful first bargello. Nice work.

I agree !!!!!

It's wonderful. I'm glad the backing was too small - I like the contrast of the fabric you ended up using. Serendipity!