Quilting with Children
Quilt

Wallhangings for the El Mercado Fair

El Mercado Fair El Mercado Fair

The Story Behind the Quilts

This quilt project was for a fundraising event while I was working at the Atrium School in Watertown, MA. Every class in the school worked on art and craft projects to be sold at the El Mercado Fair, a special fund raising project to help those in need which was organized by the 3rd-4th graders. Many students worked in multi-age groups, like the group who made the wallhangings.

How They Were Created

The students created the quilts using fusable applique. I brought a wide collection of fabrics that had been fused to Heat-n-Bond. The students cut shapes and figures out of the fabrics and arranged them on a background fabric. The pieces were ironed down by me or the student depending on the student's age. The completed top was safety pin based to the backing and batting. The students used embroidery floss to quilt the layers together. Finally, I applied a binding to each quilt. The quilts were sold for $10 to $15 each at the fair.

We completed the quilts in four sessions of about 45 minutes each. This was not enough time for the youngest students to complete their wallhanging. In the future, I would allow more time for the younger students or have younger and older students work together to make a quilt.

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