Wendys Quilts

My niece will be graduating from high school next year. I want to do a signature quilt for her. I plan on doing a snowball/nine patch quilt for this. My question:

What would be the best way for her friends to sign the quilt, before the top is made or just do the snowball blocks and have them sign it before the top is done? Or

If I make the quilt and she takes it to school and has her friends sign it, will it still be ok to use the iron on the signatures AFTER it is signed, will it still set the ink?

Thank you for all of your help and opinions.

qbquilts

I would have friends sign blocks before the top is completed. Have extra blocks on hand. This way, if a mistake is made, it won't have to be in the quilt. Also, if any of the extra blocks are not needed for mistakes, you can use them for a pillow, bag, or other accessory item for your niece.

Make sure to use freezer paper on the BACK of the blocks. This gives a stable surface for people to write. Also, make sure to clearly outline the seam allowances (you could baste 1/4" away from the edge) so that people don't get into them.

If you finish the quilt before getting the signatures, it's okay to iron. However, you take the chance on people messing up blocks and lose out on being able to have the freezer paper stability for writing on the blocks.

BTW, my current avatar is a signature quilt I made for my boss who retired. You can see it better here: http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-131269-1.htm

nativetexan

any fabric you want signed should be washed and no fabric softener used.
then put freezer paper on the back of the fabric and have them sign using permanent pens. Micron Pigma black pens .o5 size are good. i heat set with the iron, just to be sure.
good luck.

King's Daughter

I just did my third baby quilt with white fabric squares decorated by friends and family. I ironed freezer paper to the back of the squares, and gave everyone various fabric markers, pastel fabric crayons, etc. For the first two quilts, I drew what I intended to be the seam line on the fabric with a fine line pencil, with clear instructions not to go beyond the line. Well, some people appliqued and some embroidered, and while they were beautiful blocks, the stitching pulled in the lines - which didn't come out. For my third one, I drew the square on the back of the freezer paper with a heavy black marker, and this worked pretty well for the most part. Next time (if there is one!) I will do this again, but make it a little smaller than what I want the finished square to be, because I had to up the size a bit to accommodate some overenthusiastic artists!

nativetexan

he, he. it's like coloring inside the lines. some people just can't do it!

Wendys Quilts

Thank you all for you ideas! In my search for answers I found that someone used the backing for signatures. What are your thoughts on that?

qbquilts

My big concern would be that someone would mess up their signature :-(.

AliKat

I agree. Someone would mess up the backing for sure.

When I did my last one I did the prewashing of the fabric, ironed it on freezer paper, and made a window type template from a file folder, keeping the folded edge of the file folder intact, so that only the area where the individuals were to sign was visible and there was way more than just a 1/4" for seam allowances. It also helps if you mark on the file folder protector as to the center of each side so that they might [?] center their name. Thus the extra allowance on each side, so I could center the names as much as possible.

ali