Hi, I was just looking over some beautiful panels and started wondering if they could be worked into a quilt. I love the Laura Bursch cat fabrics.

Has anyone ever done a quilt using panels? I am really curious since I am not the most imaginative person in the world! Thanks!

They make great focal points and sometimes there are accents borders that can be added, toss in a few of your other fabrics that coordinate ie for borders, corner blocks etc and you can have a very nice quilt. Do a search here surely there are some that are shown in the pic category.

Panels make some of the quickest gifts I have made!

They can be put to all kinds of uses. Long/skinny panles can make a banner, or stagger three in a larger quilt. One panel, wof and 1 yard long, is often available for baby quilts. I agree... do a search here on the board. There are a lot of creative people here who have posted pictures of their work. That may get you jumpstarted! :thumbup:

Panels are great, especially when you add others pieced blocks and borders. There is so much you can do with them. Just look at it as the center to your quilt and design from there.

I just made this top yesterday. It was a kit and pattern. the center 3 large pics are one panel with attic windows and fussy cut print inside them. The pattern had several long borders added. it was quick and fun. Easy to do my first flannel and my first panel in.

I have made several panels. They aer great to practice free motion quilting. I add a coordinating fabric around the border and quilt away. Sometimes I just follow the contour of the panel for the quilting.

I have used several panels, mainly for baby or kids quilts. They are fast and easy and so pretty.

I love panels. I usually make them as gifts for weddings, babies etc. I add a couple or so borders and handquilt the dickens out of them. I made my niece a really cute holiday wallquilt with snowmen. She can use it in her home for the holidays no matter how or what she celebrates in December. There are lovely oriental ones available that can be made into art pieces. Enjoy.

Sure you can! Here's one I did, just added the borders.

good idea.

I have seen these cut into vertical narrow strips with narrow solid fabric strips placed in between. It gives them an interesting look.

I have also seen the panels cut into symmetrical blocks with sashing in between, to mimic looking out a window, too. Some were sashed similar to a attic window design.

I think it may have been a Michael Miller website that had some interesting ideas on how to use their panels.

There is a quilt pattern called Easy Breezy Quilt Pattern that goes great with panels. Also, the book by Cary Flanagan called "Moon Dance" was written for panels. Look at my picture. It's a miniature made using that book.

i like using them in the center of quilts. here is a picture of one i made for SIL and she just loved it. The size of the quilt is a king size

Panels are my new weakness. I have two kits that my LQS did with panels one she cut the panel up the other she just did some great borders on the panel. I just a book the other day that had all sorts of ideas for panels from fussy cutting them to border treatments. For the life of me I can't remember the name of the book - sorry!

Ohhhh awesome quilts. I love panels. :thumbup:
:thumbup: knlsmith, if yours doens't have home I'll give you my address. ;-)

I love using panels for baby quilts. You add a border or two and you're done!

Panels are fun to work with. They can have borders added and work up into a fun and fast quilt.

I love to use panels. There are so many cute ones for babies and young children in addition to holiday types. You can just add borders-usually the manufacturer makes coordinating prints-and quilt them, or if you want to do something more involved, there are lots of ideas in Susan Teegarden Dissmore's books "Clever Quilts" and "Clever Quilts Encore". Also some of the manufacturers have free patterns available on their websites using specific panels. I've seen a lot of articles in quilt magazines recently with ideas for using panels.

The South Seas Imports and Wilmington Fabrics websites have tons of panel quilt patterns. I made one for my daughter (not a pattern from those websites though) with the Michael Miller flower fairies. It was fairly quick and easy and it's ready for the quilter now. Just finished it yesterday. My first top in about 20 years!! I was a teen when I made the last one.
Evelyn

When I get a panel, I like to cut it all up and rearrange it. It's a good way to create your own scene.

I got one of a sort of chateau, a tree behind, and by it, a stone wall with flowers. Well, by the time I was done using 2 panels, there was another tree in front, a vineyard back in the distance, a longer wall with flowers with a path approaching the house. I used some other fabric of flowers and sky and made a little pond. Then I went a little crazy and put some foliage in the sky and some sky down by the flowers; like surrealism in art. Fun to make. Sis loves it.

Evelyn, This is so pretty. Great job after 20 years!

Cathy, Who made that panel you used?

Sylvia, sorry but I don't know. I just found it in a fabric store like a QS, Joanne or even maybe Walmart.

My DH says he'll help me with photos on his day off this week so then I can show you the wallhanging I made. I'll put it on this thread since it's a demonstration of using panels.

I love panels, especially the Oriental. Here are two of my favorite

Here's one I did. My guy LOVES ww2 planes and he got enthusiastic about my quilting (for probably the first time) when he saw the panel in a quilt shop. In retrospect I probably should have cut the apart into four blocks. Anyway, I added the blocks with the pieced planes (from the Victory Quilts book) and the ribbon borders on two sides to help with the proportions. And the corner blocks (yellow/red checkerboard) match some of the symbols that are in the original panel.

Here it is, ready to go to the LAQ.

I can't say that working with a panel was my favorite thing, but I do like some of the ones others have posted.

I have seen many and they always seem to be adorable.

Wonderful use of panels! I can hardly wait to see a picture of the wallhanging mentioned. You all do such a wonderful job. I'll have to try some of your ideas, and start cutting the panels before I put them in quilts. :thumbup:

Great ideas, thank you.

I love the arrangement of your quilt, the border is wonderful!

h carpanini, your panel is beautiful and I love how you put it all together.

Could you please tell me where you bought this kit, thanks

[ATTACH=CONFIG]562178[/ATTACH]Here's one I did.

Panels lend themselves to round robin styles. The ones that show a single scene can be enlarged with borders. The ones with individual scenes, can be cut apart and incorporated or bordered as a single panel as well. They are also great test pieces for FMQ as one can do great outline quilting.

One of my favorite quilts has a panel in the middle of a giant log cabin

I did something kind of fun, I bought seven panels and lopped six of them up to make an OBW/Stack-n-whack out of it, then put the 7th panel on the back of the quilt. My sister loved it!

These photos are a bit washed out, but here's the front...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]562218[/ATTACH]

And the back....
[ATTACH=CONFIG]562219[/ATTACH]

The only problem I have had with panels is that some of them have been printed off grain. Drives me nuts! I have to decide if it is more important to have a squared up quilt or even borders. I usually compromise and trim a little plus fudge the borders a little. I haven't had problems with quality panels from companies like Moda, but I have had with some adorable baby panels from quilt shops. Sigh. I still use them because they are so cute, but be aware.

Pam

Missouri Star Quilt Company has a You Tube short about using a quilt panel with the attic windows pattern. The directions were clear and the piecing easy, eliminating the Y seam.

Check out Pandora Fracture by Pam See. I have saved it for future use when I get the right panel. I love it.

I've used panels and love them. I also use fabric that is suppose to be made into a book. I just cut the book pages apart so I have just the book fabric and treat them like little mini panels. You can lay on it and read the book.