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Old Fashioned Crafts: Colonial Friendship
Pillows
By Brenda Hyde
In Colonial times women made Friendship Quilts with their friends and
family members. Each person embroidered their name in the center of
a quilt
block, and the women held a quilting bee to hand stitch the pieces together.
This was a very special keepsake during these times. You can do the
same thing,
but in the form of Quilted Friendship Pillows. You can create a small
version of the
Friendship Quilt by holding your own quilting party where everyone can
leave
with a special keepsake. You'll need to prepare ahead of time before
your quilting
party by doing several things:
- Decide ahead of time who will be involved. You can do this with
girlfriends or
family members. Grandmothers, mothers, granddaughters, aunts and
nieces
would be a good choice. Call each person or send an invitation explaining
they need to bring a small quilt piece with their name embroidered
for each
person. So, if you've invited six people, then each person should
bring six
squares with their name. The more people you have the longer you'll
need
to give everyone to create their blocks.
- The size of the squares depends on the amount of people. A good
size
though would consist of 9 five inch by five inch blocks. If you
don't have
9 people invited, then use some of the blocks in-between with no
names.
This would also give each person some to fill in later if they wanted
to. You
can make any size you wish though-as long as they form a square
which will
be the front of the pillow when finished.
The Day of The Quilting Party
You'll need supplies to finish the pillows during the party. Ask around,
because
usually you can gather up what you need without running out and purchasing
it
yourself. You'll need:
- Muslin or cotton material for the back of each pillow. It's not
expensive,
and someone is bound to have some on hand.
- Pillow forms or batting to stuff the pillows. Again, ask if anyone
has extra,
or instruct everyone to bring their own.
- Needles and thread to stitch the blocks together and finish the
pillow,
straight pins, scissors and ruler.
I think it makes this project more memorable to sew the blocks and finish
the
pillows by hand as everyone visits. Halfway through you can invite everyone
to
take an afternoon tea break and serve several hot teas with cookies
and tea bread.
Finishing the Friendship Pillows
Lay the squares down three squares over and three down to form the
front of
the pillow. Pin together and handstitch. Once the front is done you
can cut a piece
of material the same size for the back and sew together three sides,
insert the
pillow form or batting and sew shut the last side.
This is a very simple project. There are SO many variations you could
incorporate to make it easier or more challenging. If you feel there
isn't time to
do this with quilt blocks, then cut pillow fronts and pass them back
and forth
among the guests to embroider names. Even simpler, and something you
could
do for children, is to use fabric paint. Have an adult sew each pillow
together
instead of handstitching.
Each group of friends or family members is unique. Consider what
would be the
most memorable and fun for all involved. Whether the end result is
a
handstitched quilted pillow or a simple painted pillow, it will be
a keepsake that
will always be treasured, along with the memories of creating it.
Brenda Hyde is a freelance writer, wife and mom to three
kids living in the
Midwest United States. For more old fashioned crafts and activities
visit Brenda at http://oldfashionedliving.com/attic.html
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