Community felt quilt inspired by the Quilts of Gee's Bend

Project Description: Each student created a felt quilt block inspired by the quilts of Gee’s Bend and the read-aloud of the book “Belle, the last mule at Gee’s Bend” by Calvin Alexander and Bettye Stroud. The middle school Fiber Arts class assembled the community quilt together by sewing each of the blocks by hand.

Concepts explored: Civil Rights, Martin Luther King, voting rights, quilt, balance (symmetry and asymmetry), color

Techniques used: Drawing, coloring, glueing, cutting, sewing

Materials: 4”x4” felt squares, colored pencils, scissors, tacky glue, needles, thread

Grades: 1st-8th grade

Resources used

Click on images to download worksheets

Embroidered Self-portrait Project

Project Description: Middle school students learned how to create embroidered self-portraits using basic embroidery stitches.

Concepts explored: Identity, color, self-portraits

Techniques used: Embroidery, how to transfer an image onto fabric

Materials: Fabric, thread, embroidery needles, acrylic paint, 4'“ embroidery hoop

Grades: 6th-8th grade

Resources used