Hi Guys,

What is a whole cloth quilt? Is it a quilt that has just one very large piece of fabric on top and another on the bottom with batting in between? If it is... I would love to do one of those. They have become very popular in the shops over here, especially in while and they look fantastic with lots of layers on a bed.

Hugs

Caroline

Yep, that's exactly what it is. The focus is the quilting rather than piecing design. They are fantastic, but I don't have visions of me ever doing one.

I would love to be able to make one too :D:D:D

it started as whole cloth, being muslin on top and bottom, and then hand quilted. Now they are done in all colors usually a solid and hand or machine quilted. They are beautiful. I actually have one I marked off in the 80s and never sandwiched or quilted.

I'm a wholecloth quilter and I LOVE to do it! You don't work with color so much but with structures, with light and shadow. A wholecloth quilt top without markings is like a playground for me where you can use your fantasy and be creative as much as possible.
Caroline, may I ask where you live?

Hi Andrea

Of course you may.....! I live in Bucks in the UK? I see from your avitar that you are a fellow European!

Hugs

Caroline

Yes, I am, Caroline! Nice to meet somebody from UK here on this Message Board. I feel really associated with the British History of Quiltmaking - don't know why, maybe I lived in UK in a further live, who knows.... :wink:

The quilt in my avatar is a whole cloth quilt I made to raise money for a crippled Italian Greyhound recently. It's actually a 100%cotton sheet, in a pattern that I fell in love with. I quilted around all of the mums in the design. I did applique an Italian Greyhound and frame it, but otherwise, it is a whole cloth quilt. the first one I ever made. And I will definitely do more.

I think any quilter loves the look of whole cloth quilts. I know hand quilting absolutely amazes me. I hope all of you who respond to this thread will show us examples of your quilting. Please???

I asked that same question recently. Since I found out I love them!

Here is one example of my work - a wallhanging in a navy blue quilted with red thread.

Wow, thats beautiful! I have never seen one in purple before, I just love it!

Love the quilts. So I have a question: Where do you find the patterns for this?

The pattern is a ready cut stencil with a block motif and a border. I just changed it a little bit for the motif in the center and only used a small part for the little background patterns.

Sorry to ask so many questions. What do you use to mark it on the fabric? A washable pen prehaps?

Born to Hand Quilt, your quilt is out of this world.
I would like to make a whole cloth quilt, but my plans are to do it by machine, when my free-motion gets better Haha.

For dark fabrics I use watercolor pencils. They come in every color you need and I try to find one two or three shades lighter than the fabric. For light fabrics I use a very traditonal method called needle marking. With the tip of a darning needle you follow the slots in a precut stencil or mark around a template. The needle tip leaves a thin mark or pressed line on the fabric that lasts quite a long time! The big advantage is that you don't have to remove any markings after the quilting is finished. I also use this method for freehand marking without stencils.

Borntohandquilt,
That is an absolutely beautiful quilt.

OK, Thanks for answering my questions! I find your quilt very interesting. Great handiwork! What an inspiration you are! Keep them coming! I love it!

Wow! What a beautiful quilt! That is absolutely stunning!

They are just beautiful. I need to be a better quilter before I take on that.

This year's Best of Show winner at Paducah is a whole cloth quilt. The design is made with long arm machine quilting using bright colored threads.

I had always thought wholecloth quilts originated in Wales, but according to this site they began in France in the Provence region in the 17th century. They have some interesting links.
http://www.hthcelebrationquilts.com/...lthistory.html

I've always wanted to make one by hand - now you've got me thinking again! Where in my "to do" list should I put it??

Quiltmaniac, thank you for the link! This article summarizes all the important points in the history of wholecloth. I've never done a boutis but they are very beautiful! My main interest goes to the British tradition including the Welsh one.

me too, it's on my list

This is so beautiful!!

In the 1970's there were beautiful child's panels to hand quilt. You would not cut up a great overall picture. We used to sit in the faculty room and handquilt them for everyone's babies. I had forgotten.
Thanks for jogging the memory!

wow, beautiful!

wow that looks like so much work. how do you decide on the quilting you want to do and how long does making one of those take?

Well, this is diffucult to say. Sometimes I see a pattern in a book that I like or an idea just comes to my head. The color of the fabric often "speaks" to me and it seems to be clear that for example a special kind of green MUST have these Welsh patterns or the pink HAS to be quilted with feathers. I don't know...I don't plan my quilts so much. The blue one of which you see the picture here is made with only one stencil.
I made this little quilt a few years ago and I'm not quite sure how long this took. I think about 4 weeks full time quilting or so.