Some quilters shy away from crazy quilting. It seems so ornate and must be very difficult – after all, how could fabrics so randomly placed give such an exquisite look?
The truth is that crazy quilting provides an opportunity to use stitches, techniques and fabrics you might not otherwise get to use in your craft.
If a bed quilt seems like too much to try, start with a smaller project.
Crazy quilting is really more appropriately called crazy patchwork.
Most of the crazy quilts we see are never really sandwiched with batting and quilted. The squares are layered with muslin, tied and then sewn together to complete the quilt or wall hanging.
The patchwork of the crazy quilt can be as simple or as intricate as you like. Crazy quilts give you the chance to use all the fabrics you want – even velvets and satins if you like.
If you have never done any foundation piecing, crazy quilting is a good opportunity to practice the skill.
There is no right or wrong pattern in a crazy quilt. You cut (or tear if you prefer) pieces of fabric and sew them onto a lightweight fabric base.
Most quilters prefer to use muslin, but any lightweight fabric will do. Take a small piece of fabric and lay the right side of it to the right side of the base fabric. Stitch a seam to hold it in place. Fold the fabric piece back so that the right side is facing up and flatten it out. Select your next piece or shape of fabric and sew right on top of one of the sides of the first one, stitching it down with the same procedure. This is basic foundation sewing.
What really sets your crazy quilt project apart is how you choose to embellish it. Most of the crazy quilts from the Victorian era, when the craft gained its popularity, feature gorgeous embroidery stitches between the patches. The visible stitch work made use of bright colored threads and fancy stitches.
If you are doing your stitch work by hand, you can practice embroidery stitches like a chain stitch, running or walking stitches, button hole or appliqué stitch and many other decorative ones.
Using a machine for the between-patch stitching can also be great fun and a wonderful chance to program in all those stitches you never really have occasion to use. Play with stitch width and length. Use variegated threads for extra “craziness” to your patchwork.
If you are new to quilting and don’t have a lot of experience working with embellishments, crazy quilting is a great chance to practice embellishing. For instance, maybe you have some rick-rack on hand that would look great sewn in between some of your patches. Give it a try. It’s as easy as stitching it down.
Crazy quilting can be a good place to utilize all your left over buttons, charms, and beads, too. Incorporate them into the patchwork seams or scatter them across the entire quilt.
Either way, remember to complete all your embellishing before adding the back to your quilt. If you add the embellishments after adding the back, you will have those seams showing on the back side of your crazy quilt.
When selecting a backing for a crazy quilt, keep it simple. After all, it is the crazy patchwork that you want to stand out. A simple way to bind your crazy quilt is to fold the fabric over to create a self binding.
It is a neat idea to fold the top to the back for the crazy quilt binding. Most times quilters fold the backing to the front. Folding to the back keeps with the “crazy” theme plus you don’t have a plain, solid color back to distract from your incredible patchwork and embellishments that you have just created.
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| Section of a crazy quilt. You may be able to see the "squares" of the blocks. |
| Find this and other crazy quilt resources at amazon.com | This is a fabulous resource for embroidery stitches and ideas for embellishing crazy quilts; also available at amazon.com |
Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren
Master Quilter
