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Crazy quilt embroidery stitches and techniques
The origins of crazy quilt embroidery
I don't know about you, but I love learning about the history of all the needlework techniques I try.Crazy quilts are relatively modern, becoming popular in Victorian times when rich ladies made throws for their parlors to "show off" their needlework skills to their visitors. These quilts were made of luscious silks, satins, velvets and brocades. They were embellished with embroidery stitches of all types along with buttons, ribbons and laces. Made for show, rather than use, no thought needed to be given to the practicality or washability of these projects and therefore fabrics of many different types could be included in the same piece.
Seams and motifsThe antique crazy quilt in the photo, above, shows a number of embroidery stitches (including chain stitch, lazy daisy, herringbone, feather, chevron and blanket stitch) worked along the seam lines between patches, others often had motifs embroidered on the patches themselves.Popular motifs used on the Victorian crazy quilts included flowers (either individual blooms or bouquets and baskets) animals, birds and oriental designs. The Victorians were enthralled with all things Eastern, incorporating oriental printed fabrics and often adding fans to their quilting, either embroidered or pieced into the quilt itself. They also featured special events such as weddings, births and deaths in the motifs they used, creating effectively, a fabric scrapbook to pass down through the generations. If you are lucky enough to have such a treasure in your family my page on displaying and hanging a quilt will help you ensure that that everyone can enjoy it. Modern crazy quilt embroidery and embellishmentSince the 1980's crazy quilting has increased in popularity. I have seen pillows, wall-hangings, bags and purses, garments (such as vests and belts), needle-cases and pincushions, all lovingly stitched and decorated in this manner and I just had to try it myself! You can see my first attempt, worked on cotton fabrics, in the photograph below.
Once you have pieced your basic block, those naked patches simply cry out for pretty seam treatments and embroidered motifs using a wide variety of threads and fibres. Texture can be added to your blocks by including silk ribbon embroidery, beads, buttons and lace motifs. Your work does not have to be flat and boring! Oh and the best bit? With crazy quilt embroidery you can't do it wrong! There are no hard and fast rules, you can design it as you go along, and keep adding to your project until you think it is finished. As with anything else, there are tips and guidelines that will help you produce an attractive piece of work, however. A basic knowledge of colour theory will come in handy along with a sampler of stitches. This isn't a sampler that you would ever hang on the wall, but one in the traditional sense of somewhere to practice stitches and try out threads to see if they would work on your block. What do you need to start crazy quilt embroidery?Fabrics for crazy quilt embroideryLet us start with the fabrics for the basic pieced background. Traditionally, precious fabrics from the family's clothes were used. A snippet of a bridesmaid's dress, a satin blouse that no longer fits, scraps from a stained silk tie, anything fancy and no longer fit for its original purpose.Not got enough scraps yet?
Try your local charity (or goodwill) shops for clothing discarded by others. These fabrics may not hold any cherished memories for you, but they are an economical way to boost your stash as well as recycling old clothes. If all else fails, go and treat yourself to some new fabrics for your project. You will only need a small piece of each.
Note: Please keep in mind, that if you have in mind washing your quilting in the future, all the fabrics used should be pre-washed. This is especially important if you mix scraps with new fabrics, which could shrink the first time they are laundered.
You can choose from cottons, silks, satins, dress weight velvets, taffeta, linens, organzas and even things like ultra-suede. You may wish to avoid anything with a large pattern on it as you will only be using small sections of the cloth. Don't forget to consider the surface texture - you may want some shiny and some mat, some smooth and others with a nap (such as velvet).
Threads and needles for crazy quilt embroideryYou can really go to town here! I love threads - the feel of them, the color, stitching with them - I can't get enough. Like me, I am sure you have purchased threads that caught your eye in the past with no thought to what you will use them for. Well here is your opportunity!Silks (twisted or filament), perle's, shiny rayons, metallics, hand-dyed threads, crewel yarns, stranded cottons, cotton a broder, silk ribbon and many more can all be used to embellish your blocks. Those that are too thick to go through the fabric can always be couched on top. However, do ensure that you use the correctly sized needle for each fibre, to avoid rubbing where it goes through the eye of the needle.
Other embellishmentsOther items that are great to have handy for embellishment are: lace yardage and motifs, tatted or crochet edgings, buttons, metal findings and beads of various sizes, shapes and colours. If you enjoy other crafts, such as lacemaking or tatting, your crazy quilt blocks are the ideal opportunity to use your practice samples, or odd pieces that have never found a home.Ready to have a go at crazy quilt embroidery? OK go and collect your fabrics and threads, and meet me back at the piecing a crazy quilt block page. Oh yes, you might want to bookmark this page so you can come back and get started. Or better still, click on that little orange RSS button under the navigation bar to be informed automatically whenever I add a new page to the site.
Return to making a crazy quilt block Show off your crazy quilting on this site! Return to displaying and hanging a quilt Return to needlework tips and techniques home page
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Piecing a crazy quilt blockStep by step photos show how to create a block, using the stitch and flip technique.How to piece a crazy quilt block
Stitch a lazy daisy stitch strawberry on your quiltStitch along with me as we create a cute little strawberry using detached chain stitch (or lazy daisy stitch).Lazy daisy stitch strawberry instructions
Books on crazy quiltingSome books, and authors, stand out in the Crazy quilt line and I have added links below to some of my favourites.All of J Marsha Michler's books are handy to have as are Judith Montano's. Another author to look for is Carole Samples who wrote "The Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches" also known as the crazy quilters bible! I wouldn't be without my copy.
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Carol's ebooks Stitch your Own Business ebook
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But I feel I should caution you - crazy quilting can easily become addictive and is difficult to put down.
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