Hey everyone. This week you will learn three playful ways to stretch your quilting skills — printing family photos onto fabric, weaving strips into a sturdy bag, and giving a kitty block real whiskers. Here we go.
The short version: the teachers are leaning into personal and dimensional quilts right now. Photos become patchwork, 2.5-inch strips get woven instead of just sewn, and a little fuzzy trim turns a simple cat block into the star of the quilt. Pick one and try it small first.
Can you turn family photos into a quilt?
Over at Quilting Daily, the latest season of Love of Quilting includes an episode built around a family photo album you can wrap up in. The host works with photo transfer fabric and walks through framing, cropping, and printing your pictures before any patchwork starts. The clever part is the layout. Blocks are made in two sizes, so a big portrait and a small snapshot can both find a home in the same top. Fabric choices and quilting come last, after the photos are placed.
Our take: print a test sheet first. Always. Run one photo, wash it, and press it before you commit the good pictures. Crop tighter than you think you should. Faces read better big. We use a 50-weight thread and a size 80/12 needle for the piecing around printed panels, and we keep the quilting simple so the photos stay the story. If I can do this, y'all can do it. Start with one pillow. Completely up to you if it ever grows into a whole quilt.
What happens when you weave your strips instead of sewing them?
The same series pairs a guest maker with a beach-style tote built from woven cotton strips. A standard 2.5-inch strip roll becomes the fabric itself. Strips are woven over and under, then stabilized. The lesson spends real time on interfacing, because that choice decides whether your bag stands up or slumps. Store-bought handles and simple snaps finish it off. No fancy hardware. Just good bones.
Our take: weaving is forgiving, and we love that. A wobbly strip hides in the weave. Here is the warning, right where you need it. Fuse or stabilize your woven panel before you cut it, or the whole thing will shift on you. Slow down there. Test your interfacing on a small woven square first, press it well, and let it cool flat. Just like that, you have a panel strong enough for pockets, placemats, or that tote.
How do you give a kitty block whiskers that show?
Our favorite smile this week is a kitten quilt from the same season. The blocks are mix-and-match, so each cat gets its own fabric personality. One kitty is calico. The next is solid. The whiskers are the trick worth stealing. They are made from pre-packaged chenille strips, layered for extra fuzz, so they stand up off the surface. Shank-style buttons become the noses. Then each kitty gets its name stitched right onto the quilt in free-motion lettering.
Our take: this is personal proof that embellishment belongs after the teaching, not before it. Piece the block first. Get it flat and square. Then add the fun. Layer two short chenille pieces per whisker instead of one long one. It looks fuller and frays softer. Keep buttons for quilts that will be looked at more than washed hard, and stitch those names slowly. Travel between letters instead of breaking thread every time. Super duper cute, and still practical.
Corey & Linda's game plan for your sewing week
- Start tiny. One photo pillow, one woven coaster panel, or one kitty block. Small tests teach you the whole technique.
- Pull strips before yardage. A single strip roll covers the weaving lesson and half the kitty blocks. Browse fabric for the prints that carry your photos best — quiet backgrounds let pictures speak.
- Need a smaller weekend make first? Our Craft Project Ideas series is full of one-evening projects that build the same skills.
- Sewing a photo quilt as a gift? Plan the backing early. If a wideback would save you a pieced backing, our Know Your Widebacks guides walk through the options.
- Give yourself permission. A crooked whisker is still a whisker. You're your own worst critic, folks. Take your time. It's not a race.
Quick answers
Will printed photo fabric hold up? Test one print first — wash and press your sample the way the finished quilt will be treated, and only then print the full set.
Do I need special supplies for woven strips? No. Standard 2.5-inch strips, the right interfacing for the stiffness you want, and a walking foot will get you through your first panel.
That's the roundup for this week. Tell us what you're stitching — and if you need the fabric, batting, or backing to finish it, you know where to find us. Thanks for spending time with us, y'all. We'll see you next time. Bye.
— Corey (Chief Quilter) & Linda, Linda's Electric Quilters
