What Makes A Modern Quilt that makes them so beautiful, bright fabric colors, new patterns, new quilting with long stitches or made with your sewing machine?
As you keep making your quilts, you might be making a modern quilt without knowing it, if this happens to you, you’re not alone, as I learn more about different types of quilts, I can say I have made a few modern quilts without knowing it, so lets talk about what makes a modern quilt.
What Makes A Modern Quilt
A modern quilt is functional and inspired by modern designs, these quilts can be made by different types of methods and techniques, but most are made with fabrics with bold color and prints, high contrast on its design, graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism and negative space and modern traditional patterns.
Let’s take a look to the characistics that makes a modern quilt:
Minimalism And Negative Space On A Quilt
You might have seen a few quilts made with small pieces of one fabric and the rest of the quilt is made with a different color fabric, this space is used to work with Free Motion Quilting creating this way amazing quilting patterns, which gives any quilt a unique design and texture.
Modern Traditional Patterns
For many years, quilters around the world have been making their quilts with traditional patterns. But today many quilters have been feeling free to take one pattern and modify it or made it in a different way, which brings the opportunity to make a different and unique quilt.
Some quilts are made with just one block, with pieces cut in big scale which helps the quilter to make a quilt top in just a few minutes.
Another way to use the traditional Quilt Patterns to make a modern quilt is to make it wrong or make the block first, then cut in four or niche pieces, switch the pieces and sew on the pieces to make a different pattern, and most of the times the block looks amazing!
Improvisational Piecing
On modern quilts you might find different patterns and some are made with no pattern at all. Modern quilters can make a new quilt by piecing pieces of fabric based on any pattern at all, with this many new patterns come up and they make amazing new quilts.
Modern Traditional Patterns
Modern quilters can take any traditional pattern to make their quilts, new block sizes and new shapes help these quilters to create their modern quilts.
Fabric For The Back Of A Modern Quilt
When you’re making a traditional quilt, you need to use a whole piece of fabric for the back, most of the times it needs to be white or light beige to fit on this style of quilt.
When making a modern quilt, when it’s time to find a fabric for the back, you are free to use any type of fabric and color, with this, modern quilters have come up with quilts that can be used both sides of the quilts, and many times you might have hard times to find out which side is the pretty side of that quilt.
The fabric for the back of a modern quilt can be any color and it can also be by stitching together two or more pieces of fabric, this fabric can also be made with one or more blocks with the pattern used to make the quilt.
How To Make The Quilting On A Modern Quilt
When making the quilting on a modern quilt, there’re no rules, it can be made by hand or with your sewing machine, it can be also made with small regular stitches by hand or these stitches can be made any size and with any type of thread.
What Makes A Modern Quilt – Closing Thoughts
How to make a quilt has changed in the last years, allowing more people to feel free to create their own patterns or to create their own version of a traditional quilt.
There is no doubt for me as a quilter, both modern and traditional quilts are beautiful, but I must say I’m always amazed by the great work modern quilters make on their quilts.
It’s not hard to find beautiful modern quilts on the internet, if you are wondering if it is worth all the work to make one, I must say it does!
Are you ready to make your first modern quilt? Let us know on a comment.
Happy Quilting!
Thanks so much for sharing our blog on your Social Media!
Hi there, Quilting is such a rewarding craft and one feels so fulfilled when you complete a quilt. I have not made a quilt for a few years, as I normally sew clothes. But with a grandchild expected, I wanted to make the baby a special quilt, so I am very pleased that I found your post.
I did not quite realize there was a modern and traditional way of quilting. I think whatever you want to call it, it is a unique and wonderful piece that you make and it can become a family heirloom.
Hi, I’m delighted to find that a modern quilt may be made by hand or with my sewing machine and that it can also be done with small regular stitches by hand or with any size and type of thread. Making a quilt has given me the confidence to design my own patterns or my own versions of traditional quilt patterns. Both modern and traditional quilts are lovely, and I agree with you.
Excellent post.