gingerminn

Hello! I am an elementary teacher and would like to create a class quilt. Has anyone done this that could provide me some tips? I'm wondering what kind of crayons or markers you had the students use? Also, how do you keep students from writing near the edge of the fabric where the seams would be? Any tip would be appreciated. Thank you!

maryb119

I was taught to uses only Crayola crayons on fabric, but do not use the washable crayons, just regular ones. You can cut the blocks and iron on freezer paper on the back to stabilize the fabric so it can be colored on. Use a fabric marking pen and draw a line about a half inch inside the edge of the block and tell the kids not to draw between the line and the edge of the fabric. After they have colored their block, tear off the freezer paper and lay a paper towel on the ironing board. Place the colored block face up and then place another paper towel on top. With low heat on your iron, gently press the blocks to heat set the crayon into the fabric. Do not slide the iron across the block, just press and lift and press again until the crayon is set in the fabric. This makes the blocks washable. You can trim the blocks into the same size squares and use a sashing to put them together. The kids will love to see how they worked together to make a quilt. I have heard of some classes doing this and then having a drawing on the last day of school for the winner of the class quilt. I have also heard of the kids raffling the quilt for charity. The ideas are endless. I hope this helps.

Gemm

I've seen a project where the kids were also taught to do some basic sewing/embroidery with printed fabric and yarn. Depending on how old your students are, you might need to get some one-on-one supervision with needles, etc. but it would be a great opportunity to teach a practical skill. :-) The teacher/adult then incorporated those squares into a quilt with sashing, etc. The teacher also connected those motifs to their teaching topic.