Using Stamped Quilt Blocks to Create Interest

Sometimes quilts don’t turn out quite as planned once they’re done. Rather than ripping it out and starting over or just storing the quilt away somewhere, create interest and design by adding stamps. Stamps can be added after a piece is quilted or you can plan to create stamped quilt blocks from the beginning. Heather Thomas shows you several examples of how adding stamps can change the entire look of a quilt.

Color Blocks

While many different squares stitched together and quilted with fun spirals creates a colorful quilt, Heather decided it didn’t have enough visual interest. By using a stamping technique she was able to add an additional design element to the quilt without having to spend time adding more hand quilting or appliques. Heather explains how she used small stamps and a black ink to contrast the color blocks already on the quilt. By spacing the stamps out she was able to create enough stamped quilt blocks to add to the piece without overpowering the hand quilting already done. Heather also explains that not every stamp has to be perfect as long as the stamping is consistent throughout the quilt.

Stamps

Stamps don’t have to be just small designs spaced evenly over a quilt, but rather can be the entire quilt block design. Heather shows an example of how she created a stamp that covered an entire finished quilt square and used it over the whole quilt. Since the same design was being used to create multiple stamped quilt blocks that all had the same design, she rotated the stamp to give several blocks a different look. The quilt top was stitched using hand dyed fabric in various colors, so black ink was used for stamping. If you plan to create a similar quilt and are dying fabric, consider leaving out several colors to allow yourself to be able to use different colored inks.