We’re all familiar with the acronym, KISS, which tells us to Keep It Simple, Sweetheart, or some variation of that same theme. Confronting the idea of making a quilt may seem like a very daunting task to many, especially to those of us who are unsure of our abilities, but when we KISS and consider quilting blocks, the process of making a quilt becomes a bit less intimidating.
Quilting blocks are the basic building blocks of a quilt. They work in much the same way the alphabet works when learning to read. Mastering one block, or one letter, at a time makes it much easier to piece those smaller elements together to form one much bigger whole.
Many, many quilts are actually many quilting blocks sewn together in decorative style to make one, larger, finished quilt. Several fabrics may be used to form patterns within one block but there’s no reason why a single patch of fabric can’t be used as the block itself.
When a single patch of fabric is used to make the quilting blocks, these individual blocks are often embellished with embroidery, decorative trim, and even fabric paints and inks. Decorating each block uniquely is a great way to construct an attractive quilt with a minimum of fuss over sewing.
Some very stunning quilts are made by using a series of identical blocks for the entire quilt. Log cabin quilts are often made in this way and the contrast from light to dark within each block produces a very pleasing effect over all.
But back to that KISS. An entire quilt may seem like a challenge too large to confront but when breaking the entire quilting project into smaller elements, such as the quilting blocks themselves, the layers, and the binding fabrics, the entire project seems more like a series of smaller, easily managed steps.
If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at quilting but have been putting it off for fear of encountering an overwhelming mission, don’t kiss off that quilt project, KISS it, one block at a time, instead.
