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Colorful Quilt Patches

Quilts are layered textiles that can be both useful and decorative. Students will explore some of the many ways they're used and and create an colorful patch that is inspired by quilt designs.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Heavy Paper
  • Paper
  • Plastic Fork

Steps

  • Step 1

    Quilting has a long history, and may date back as far as 2400 BCE. Quilts were originally practical items that provided protection and insulation, but there were artistic elements as well. In more modern times quilts started to be created as art pieces. Discuss some of the ways quilting has helped societies. For example, quilters in the African American-populated town of Gee's Bend, Alabama, founded the Freedom Quilting Bee cooperative to generate income for their families. Have students look at images of some of these beautifully vibrant and colorful quilts as well as other examples of quilts, both functional and decorative.

  • Step 2

    Have students use images of Gee's Bend quilts or others to inspire them as they create a quilting patch that could be displayed together as a large faux quilt. Have them decorate pieces of paper with brightly colored crayons, then add a layer of washable paint on top. While the paint is wet, have them rub over it with the tines of a plastic fork or other textured object, such as a comb or a piece of corrugated cardboard. When the paint is dry, they could cut the paper into squares, rectangles, and other shapes, then share patches with other students to arrange into a paper quilt.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their art and talk about the shapes and designs in their quilt image.

Standards

ARTS: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches. 

SS: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions: Examine various institutions that affect one’s life and influence people’s thinking and how they advocate for ideas they believe in. 

Adaptations

The quilters of Gee's Bend typically use a variety of recycled textiles to make their quilts, which is an example of upcycling. Talk to the class about this environmentally-friendly process of reusing unwanted items to produce products with artistic and/or functional value. Challenge students to create an upcycled work of art, either at home or at school.

In the 1960s, ferry service to and from Gee's Bend was discontinued in an effort from officials to keep Black Americans from voting. Have a discussion about the importance of voting. Why is it crucial to allow everyone to voice their opinion and have a say, even if not everyone shares the same beliefs? How does respecting the opinions of others strengthen a community?