The trend for handmade sewing has brought new attention to quilting. Whether antique or modern, used traditionally as bedding or hung on the wall, quilts add color, pattern, and a soulful character to rooms that feel exactly of the moment.
Today, textile artists, fabric houses, and a new generation of quilters are making modern designs that reference these time-honored techniques and motifs in bold new ways. At Bowen Island, B.C.’s new Kitoki Inn, custom quilts by Miju Kawai are made in earthy hues to highlight intricate sashiko stitching. In Hamilton, quiltmaker Lindsay Stead nods to classic North American patterns using high-contrast shades to create quilts that read as contemporary art. “There have always been quilters,” says Lindsay. “What we’re seeing now is a small number who are stepping outside of set patterns, doing their own thing and pushing boundaries.”
Scroll down to see how to decorate with quilts in your own home!
Photographer: Lindsay Stead
Photographer: Courtesy of Schumacher
Photographer: Stephen Kent Johnson
Photographer: Courtesy of Design by Us
Photographer: Thompson Street Studio
Photographer: Kara Mercer
Designer: Lisa Staton
Photographer: Courtesy of Sharktooth
Inspired by her childhood in Miami and her grandmother’s background in fashion design, Naila Janzen creates quilts in Winnipeg that combine natural bamboo and cotton fabric blends with vivid geometric patterns.
Photographer: Kait Day, Nowaday Studio (portrait) & Rox Creative (quilt)
With a background in menswear, Kyle Parent brings traditional tailoring techniques to his studio practice in Vancouver. Using remnant and upcycled fabrics, he creates contemporary tableaus reconciling utility and art.
Photographer: KTWP Quilts
When his work as a photographer paused during the pandemic, Justin Ming Yong turned to quilting. He learned to sew on a machine and took lessons from his mother, a quilter with a basement full of fabrics. His process: build a color scheme, then go with the flow. “It’s like painting, but with fabric,” says the Toronto-based creator.
Photographer: Justin Yong
Originally from Edmonton, Lauren MacDonald creates quilts with graceful, arcing blocks of color in London, U.K. She also teaches classes on quiltmaking online. “Textiles are omnipresent in our lives, and yet they’re kind of innocuous, which makes them interesting objects to study and share.”
Photographer: Charlie McKay (portrait) & Lauren MacDonald (quilt)
The trend for handmade sewing has brought new attention to quilting. Whether antique or modern, used traditionally as bedding or hung on the wall, quilts add color, pattern, and a soulful character to rooms that feel exactly of the moment.
Today, textile artists, fabric houses, and a new generation of quilters are making modern designs that reference these time-honored techniques and motifs in bold new ways. At Bowen Island, B.C.’s new Kitoki Inn, custom quilts by Miju Kawai are made in earthy hues to highlight intricate sashiko stitching. In Hamilton, quiltmaker Lindsay Stead nods to classic North American patterns using high-contrast shades to create quilts that read as contemporary art. “There have always been quilters,” says Lindsay. “What we’re seeing now is a small number who are stepping outside of set patterns, doing their own thing and pushing boundaries.”
Scroll down to see how to decorate with quilts in your own home!
The post The New Breed Of Quilts — And How To Use Them appeared first on House & Home.
