Silhouettes: Because Not Every Quilt Needs 127 Pieces
- ACreativeCorner
- Jan 11
- 3 min read
(A little… a lot of assistance from ChatGPT to create this cool comic strip)
Art quilts don’t have to start with a complicated sketch, a ruler fight, or a mild panic over tiny pieces. Sometimes the most meaningful stories begin with a simple silhouette.
(My friend had completed a Jelly Roll Race but didn’t know what to do with the top. I begged her to let me have and try something with it. With the use of my silhouette cutter… I turned the already pretty fall Jelly Roll Race quilt top into a piece of artwork.)
For beginners, silhouettes take the pressure way down. No “is this nose too pointy?” or “why does eyes look weird?” moments. The silhouette does the heavy lifting, while the background and quilting step in as strong, supportive companions—each one working together so no single part must do all the work.
(“Always Within Reach” This is part of a small series I made for our Wyoming SAQA group for a color challenge. The goal was to have a 2” black fabric anywhere on the left and right side so the quilts everyone turned in would link together.)
And for those of us who’ve been making art quilts for years… going simple can feel oddly rebellious. A clean silhouette can still tug at heartstrings without requiring 127 pieces or a seam ripper meltdown.
(This was another challenge to use broken lines. I actually used a pattern, but I don’t seem to remember who it was from. I did include an additional silhouette in each square to stand for my husband, two daughters, and myself. Silhouettes don’t need to be black. Any one fabric can be a silhouette.)
If you’re a traditional quilter, think of this as your gateway quilt. Start with a favorite block or layout you already know and trust. Let it be your safety net. Then add a silhouette that tells a story. Suddenly your quilt block has feelings—and maybe a little attitude.
(I wanted to challenge myself, so I wanted to use my silhouette machine and see what was easier to cut out. Fabric with Steam-A-Seem on the back or if I Mod Podged using Kestra Michaud’s method. They both seemed to cut well. Then I used my AccuQuilt 8” Cube and made the block with it. Before I finished, I didn’t want to put a binding around it, so I used yarn instead. A friend suggested to have the Raven appear that it is pulling the yarn off the quilt.)
Two artists who continue to inspire me in this space are Beret Nelson (On the Trail Creations) and Marie Noah. Beret’s simple but powerful silhouettes always stop me in my tracks. Marie’s patterns are the reason I moved from art quilting into traditional quilting (a little backwards but that sums me up) learning to piece one block at a time, then layering in appliqué (often silhouettes) to bring it to life.
(I took a class from Beret Nelson, and she was encouraging students to let the fabric speak for itself. Here the ocean was one piece of fabric. I just stitched straight… well straightish lines to appear like I quilted all those pieces together. Again, I used my silhouette to cut the bird shapes out. The boat just happened to be part of a piece of fabric I had. I made this for my prior commander as a going away gift as he was being moved from Wyoming to Virginia. I’m originally from Maryland so this piece hit home for me.)
Even though I now design my own patterns, I’ll always be a fan and a customer of artists like these. Using someone else’s patterns or kits lets my brain relax and simply enjoy the process… especially in the middle of a busy quilting retreat.
(I’ve shown this piece a lot, but I want to highlight the trees. The wolf is made from two pieces of fabric and then thread for the tiny branches. The mini trees were also made of one fabric but as silhouettes. The only really pieced appliqué part was Little Red Riding Hood herself.)
(I used my silhouette and cut out a buffalo out of the white fabric. But I liked the reverse look too. So, two fabrics, two different appearances. Both were made into Art Quilt Christmas Cards.)
Simple doesn’t mean boring. It means intentional, expressive, and sometimes exactly what we need. And yes… it’s still totally okay to call it an art quilt. 😉🧵
~ Angela McPherson
ACreativeCorner
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