Bargello Quilts

Book:
The Bargello Quilt Book/ by Piecemakers

Time to reveal my next project... I choose: "Mini-Bargello" on page 12.  

Book, Fabrics

There are other great Bargello books that vary in design and complexity and would be fun to try. However, my goal is to dig through my own library of books that I haven't used yet and explore those possibilities first before I buy or borrow more.

My other goal, is to use my own fabrics and therefore the fabric colors are either matched as closely as possible or it allows me to do something totally different.

And, then…  as I usually gravitate to the smallest projects first, I was delighted that they included a “mini” version, just for someone like me. 

FABRIC SELECTION:

There are two main tips and then the rest is up to you.

1.  Use either prints or solids or a combination of them. The main rule is to shade fabrics from light to dark.  

2.  Choose a few fabrics you love and continue to expand from them.

There were some fat quarter fabrics that I would have chosen but wasn’t sure if I’d have enough yardage for the mini version. So now, I’d say, yes! It just means you’ll cut more strips, but sewing them together still works fine. 

I couldn’t decide from the larger pieces that I had… so, when I finally decided upon one print fabric, I chose all solid colors for the rest. I also went with only seven fabrics, instead of the ten used in this pattern.

What I loved, was the little black and white sketch of a quilt on the first page. It only used six colors, but it was so cute. If I had a few more blacks and whites, I would have tried making it.

Now, even though I don’t think I’d make another Bargello quilt, one can never be too sure. There are more interesting variations available in other books, that just may need further exploration.

As always, buying new fabrics in all the correct yardages, with the help of the quilt shop staff makes the fabric selection go very smoothly. But here I am talking about using the fabrics you already own, and that means allowing new choices to be tried. Try shopping in your own fabric corner for great color choices!!

THE PROCESS

After the fabric colors have been cut into strips, they are sewn together. Then from this, they are cut into the widths required, as shown below. I used a white label to mark the sizes as some of them really look similar when the process is ongoing.

 

Fabric Strips Marked by Size

A Pile of Strips

Sewing the Strips Together

Quilt Top Complete

Quilting the Layers

The Quilt Binding

Just remember, if you feel good about it, then enjoy the process as it unfolds. Who really knows… maybe you’ll come up with a unique design of your own, that others will enjoy making, too!!

My Bargello Quilt

Finished Size: 29” x 25 3/4”

Next week...

My next book choice and then a reveal the following week. If you wish to see what books are being featured you can also check out my website for more details.

Happy stitching!!