Design along with me

Close up of the Tall Poppy quilt.

For those of you who read my column in Make Modern magazine, you’ll know I designed my latest pattern release, the Tall Poppy quilt, after taking a brief from a client.

I really enjoyed that process, so I thought you might all like to join in the fun. Starting now, and throughout 2023 I’ll write up a brief for a quilt design each month and challenge you to design along with me.

Not only that, but we’ll be looking to feature some of your designs in my column for Make Modern and even have some submitted as feature patterns throughout the year.

I’ve wanted to develop a more regular quilt design habit for a while now, so I see this as a great way of being held accountable. I’ll also be chatting to a couple of other designers about how they do this in my Make Modern columns next year.

I’ve been releasing two patterns a year, but would like to increase the design options I have available to choose from.

There are no requirements for how you design your quilt. It can be a sketch, a collage or a computer file – the choice is yours. It’s just the habit of design I’m trying to encourage, not the writing of a pattern or the making of a finished quilt – though help with doing that will be something we’ll look at later in the year for those who are interested.

Think of the brief as a set of rules to get you started. If you find yourself going off on a tangent and creating something amazing that doesn’t fit the brief, that’s fine. I can tell you now, that I’ll certainly break my own rules, so it won’t be any barrier to having your idea shared.

One thing to note is that the magazine is written well in advance of publication, so quilts designed this month will not appear until the March edition. You can design in private, or if you’re keen to get your ideas out there, then hashtag #quiltfromabrief

If you have ideas for a brief, then you should also get in touch – I’ve got a few in mind, but I’d also enjoy the challenge of designing to some of your ideas.

Here’s your first brief.

Quilt brief #1

Design a modern quilt sampler for beginners.

Size: The quilt should be baby/wallhanging or throw size (or have options for both)

Structure: The design should include a series of basic blocks or shapes, for example flying geese, nine-patch, half-square triangles, hour-glass blocks etc

Colour: Include either Kona or Pantone’s colour of the year.

If you’d like to be featured in my column, then make sure you tag on Instagram, or email me with your ideas before I release the next brief in the middle of January. I’ve already been playing around with ideas for my approach, but I can’t wait to see what you come up with.