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Create a patch of
warmth, design your own quilt THE one thing one loves snuggling into on those chilly days and nippy evenings is a warm and cosy quilt. A quilt is a symbol of warmth, comfort and cheerfulness.
Those who’ve seen the English film How to Make an American Quilt can understand how in some societies quilt-making is a family tradition through which women communicate their love and warmth from one generation to another. For all major family occasions, like a wedding, birth of a child, etc, a special quilt is made in which each stitch, each thread binds the past, present and the future in the fabric of love, caring and sharing. Though in our country quilt-making is not so much a tradition in middle and upper-class families, with people preferring to buy readymade ones or getting them made from the razai shops that come alive in most city markets during winter. But these mass- produced, off-the-shelf or made-to-order quilts can not be as vibrant or exclusive as home-made or self-designed quilts. With winter almost upon
us, the time is just right to give your imagination a free rein and
design a cosy ’n’ snazzy quilt for yourself or your family. And that
too without burning a big hole in your pocket. |
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To design a quilt at home, you don’t need to scout around shops for new cloth. Get innovative with fabrics, materials or dresses lying at home. For a patch-work quilt, old but durable kurtas, cotton dupattas, sarees, scarves, children’s dresses, embroidered or mirror-work cushion covers—anything and every thing can come handy. If you don’t want a patch-work quilt, you can buy mix ‘n ’match combinations in colours of your choice. You can team up checks or stripes with a polka dot border or frill of the same shade. Or you can go in for contrasts. You can sew on cute motifs on the main fabric—be it little hearts, nursery patterns for kids or flowers. To lend an ethnic touch to your quilt, experiment with rajasthani or Gujarati block prints. In fact, you needn’t buy readymade Jaipuri quilts at all. You can create your own. If you have block-printed bedcovers, cotton sarees, etc you can use them. But make sure their colour doesn’t run or they’re not too old. Else you can buy light-coloured block-printed suit material to create jaipuri quilts of your colour and choice. For the quilt back, the most commonly used material is lattha or white cotton which is available at most textile shops. For those who prefer coloured or matching fabric on the underside, Swiss cotton in a range of hues is available. Filling for the quilt Though loose cotton or rui is the traditional filling for razais, most people prefer polyfill these days as it is washable and not likely to shrivel like rui . Loose polyfill is available at Rs 70 to Rs 80 per kg, while sheets made of polyfill cost about Rs 65 per metre. These sheets are especially suitable for making Jaipuri quilts. About 3 kg to 4 kg of loose polyfill is enough for a double quilt. Stitching tools There are a few basic tools that you will require in order to make a quilt: Strips of colorful cotton fabrics that are at least 6" to 8" wide for the border. A spool of quilting thread. (This is heavier than the regular thread) A fabric pencil A fine quilter’s needle A pair of fabric scissors How to sew the patches Make certain that the strips of fabric are clean and pressed. Cut the cotton strips into any shape you wish. Squares, rectangles, circles or traditional patterns can be used. If you are a beginner, squares or rectangles are easier to handle. Lay the blocks you have cut in piles and decide how you want them laid out. Pick up your straight edge and lay it along the edge of your fabric. Make certain your quilt pieces are laying face down. Now, take your fabric pencil and mark your fabric so there is a line ¼ inch from the edge of the fabric. This is your seam allowance. Use straight pins (fabric pins) to pin the two pieces of fabric together with the lines opposite each other. Once you have the pieces pinned together, sew along the lines. Be sure to sew straight, else your quilt will be crooked. Repeat this procedure until your quilt section is one foot square. Make as many of these sections as you need. Quilting procedure Once you have designed your quilt cover, you can either put the filling yourself or take it for nigandana to the women who sit outside various razai shops. Since their rates are reasonable, most people prefer to get the quilting done from them. They take about Rs 40 for a double quilt and Rs 20 for a single one. For a Jaipuri quilt, they charge about Rs100. If you decide to do the quilting at home, the polyfill sheets are the most handy. Cut the sheet to the size of your quilt. Fit it into the quilt cover. Fluff it properly to ensure that it fits into all the corners. You can use a long stick to push the filling towards the edges and corners. Now you will need the quilting thread and needle. Thread your needle and place a small knot at the end of the thread. Insert your needle into the quilt top and pull your thread through the material. When you get to the knot, give a sharp jerk, pulling the knot through the fabric. It will catch in the filling. Never leave knots on the outside of a quilt. Now run your needle through the fabric, starting along the border, using a running stitch. Be sure your stitches are uniform. Pull the thread through. When the thread runs out, do not knot it. Run your needle into the filling, under the quilt top, for as far as you can. Push your needle back through the top, stretch thread and cut just above the top. The end will slide back into the center of the quilt where it will not show. You can get some family member to help
in the process. Once you’re through, you can sit back and derive
immense satisfaction from the cozy covering you’ve created. |
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