ESSENTIAL GUIDE
“Sewing simple band quilts produces charming results and we show you how easy it is to get started.”
– Lin Clements
WHAT IS A BAND QUILT?
A band quilt is the name given to a quilt layout where blocks or other patchwork units are sewn into bands, that is, into rows or columns. The main feature of such a layout is that each row (or column) will have the same block. Sometimes, a layout like this will be called a band sampler quilt and is meant to demonstrate skill and be a specimen of achievement. Needlework and cross stitch samplers are similar examples and all such pieces date back to the Seventeenth century. So, as a patchworker, you might decide to make a band sampler quilt to show that you have mastered the basic techniques in quilting., for example, blocks might be chosen to allow practise in making half-square triangle units. In the photograph below, a mini band quilt has been created using four different blocks, repeated in rows. A band quilt could also feature appliqué blocks or motifs, or a mixture of patchwork and appliqué, so the choice of what you might include is wide. Band quilts can also include rows of either unpieced fabric or small pieced units, and so evolve into something quite complex. The photographs shown throughout this article give some idea of what can be achieved.
