Project Monochrome: RED!

Monday, September 12, 2011


Project Monochrome is a challenge to work with a wide range of colors, focusing on one at a time. I'll be constructing a series of sewing and quilting projects to explore each color. Feel free to join me! More information here.


Project Monochrome: Red by jenib320
Project Monochrome: Red, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
I have always liked traditional friendship braid quilts, and after seeing Amanda's take on the pattern, I knew I needed to try it out! I decided to use it for the red project, because I am going to try to make some connections between the different projects. This quilt has direction, just like the geese, and the orange project will use "strings" like this one! :)

I used skinny little strings for this, 1.5"x4.5". The quilt ended up at about 10"x16" finished.

Project Monochrome: Red by jenib320
Project Monochrome: Red, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
I don't have a lot of reds in my stash, this is about all the red I own! About half of this stack is vintage cottons. I seem to have good luck finding vintage red! Most of the fabrics I used are red + white, but a few are red and cream. I think they mix in pretty well!

Project Monochrome: Red by jenib320
Project Monochrome: Red, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
Making the braids require that you trim off a decent amount on all four sides. I couldn't throw out those little bits, so I sewed together a few of the smaller ones and made these little blocks for the backing. I framed them in more white like the front and finished it off with this vintage red and white dot.

Project Monochrome: Red by jenib320
Project Monochrome: Red, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
I attempted to quilt it a la Malka Dubrawsky, but I'm not sure how successful it is. Her quilting feels so doodle-like, organic, and natural, but mine just felt messy! I went with it anyways, but I think I need a little more practice! I bound it in one of my favorite vintage reds, this giant polka dot! They just don't make a lot of giant dots like this nowadays!

Project Monochrome: Red by jenib320
Project Monochrome: Red, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
Despite the quilting weirdness, I am really happy with the finished project. I love red and white together, they're just made for each other! Red is so bold, it stands so well on it's own! I think I need to incorporate more red into my projects! :)

Project Orange is planned out, but there are quite a few other things coming up in the next few weeks, so I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to work on it! What colors are you thinking about exploring?

13 comments :

  1. very nice, jeni!

    i have been thinking of making an all red quilt out of hexagons with linen. just need to finish a few projects first! :)

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  2. It's beautiful. That alphabet print is fun. Is that a vintage print?

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  3. I'm surprised to see how well the white and cream play together -- thanks for the lesson!

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  4. Very pretty! Love the braids, need to try those one day.

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  5. Looks great! I like the braids, too. :)

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  6. Jeni - these are neat. what will you do with them? I am experimenting with 'making fabric' a la Bumble Beans "15 minutes play" in green.

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  7. fun fun! I like the quilting, good job trying something new!

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  8. Malka's quilting is definitely inspiring, and I'm sure, not easy! Yours is a good first attempt. I need to be gutsy and try something like that!

    I love the red. Your vintage finds are always inspiring!

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  9. oooo i love this one even more!!!! i know I said aqua but what about a mustard yellow? I know bright yellow can be hard to see sometimes, but darkening the yellow is so cool i think! can't wait to see the orange next! great job once again!

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  10. That is gorgeous! It is amazing what you did with just the two colors. Thanks for an inspiring post!

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  11. That is just gorgeous!! I love it!

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  12. I had no idea that this look was a traditional friendship braid pattern. Cool!

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