Log Cabin Quilting in 7th Grade

I really love teaching beginning knitting, in fact, beginning anything. I really thrive on introducing people to new skills, opening doors to possibilities, and being a kind of welcoming gatekeeper to almost anything. Just recently (in my 40+ year career of teaching handwork), I have started to teach a couple of different quilting methods to homeschool classes. Quilting is traditionally a family or community undertaking, incorporating all skill levels. 

I’ve been quilting for longer than I’ve been teaching. I learned from a woman, Mary Ellen Hopkins, who published an inspiring down-to-earth manual called "It's OK if you sit on my quilt”. She encouraged people to try things out, to enjoy the process, and always to remember the result did not have to be studio art; keeping somebody warm was a noble purpose. 

When my children were young, we moved to a new location and a new school, and I was eager to meet other women with young children. A group met during school hours in the form of a traditional quilting bee: all were welcome, at whatever skill level (making tea and keeping an eye on the younger children was an invaluable skill). We pieced and assembled the quilt tops and sat together once a week to quilt the layers together. The current quilt was draped over Nancy's dining room table, we each had our own favorite needle, and thread and scissors were available scattered over the quilt. Sometimes we worked in our own area, sometimes we moved to another chair as space became available and the conversation over there sounded interesting. There was a comfortable flow of conversation, and it was equally possible to stay completely silent and just enjoy the company and the experience of doing meaningful, creative, productive work together.   

Once I started teaching handwork in grades 1-8, I became aware that many students did not have much background in handsewing, and many middle school students came brand new to Waldorf Education. Today in my homeschool classes, it is rare that teenagers have ever seen anyone sew by hand.

Instead of setting the bar unrealistically high for current students, working on the recommended shirt with placket, cuffs, collar, etc., I needed a project that would introduce them carefully and easily to basic (and sometimes more advanced) sewing skills, and ensure success.  I introduced my 7th grade students to the Log Cabin.

This is a beloved traditional quilting pattern, dating back to pioneer days in America when straight strips of fabric were torn from otherwise no-longer useful items and re-configured into a warm blanket or ‘quilt’. The pattern mirrors the way homes were built: the red square represents the hearth, the center of the family home, and the logs / fabric strips are stacked one after the other and as precisely as possible sequentially around the edges. The most common log cabin block is ‘sunshine and shadows’ - two walls or edges are light (sunshine) and the next two are dark (shadows).

Making each square is relatively simple: the number of very basic skills to be mastered is minimal (running stitch, anchoring at beginning and end) so the sewing is very repetitious. This lends itself easily in the classroom to both reviewing and learning the foundational skills for potentially more complex projects.

Quilting is primarily a very US-oriented project, which can also be used in context with the study of US history, but as always, we offer this as an example which you can modify according to your students’ location and particular needs. 

The Log Cabin pattern came to the fore around the time of the Civil War as a symbol of honesty and self-reliance, notably in Abraham Lincoln’s presidential campaign. An extended time - several weeks or months - working on this project can offer students a window into the life and times of pioneer America and a significant experiential cross-curricular link to the history they will be studying. Students gain some sense of the surprising beauty that can arise from balancing frugality and practicality. 

Historic Log Cabin quilt, or Sunshine and Shadow Variation quilt, or Light and Dark Variation quilt, circa 1875–1900

Traditional log cabin quilting offers almost limitless potential for connection: historical: familial (as quilts are passed down through generations). They can be compiled by friends for a graduation; a significant life event; or a new baby; fabrics from outgrown children’s clothing; and the hearth centers can be embroidered with special symbols or messages; or family histories can be recorded.   

Keeping it simple, though, is the best way to introduce this technique. To make a 12” square pillow, we begin with a 14” square of muslin or plain backing fabric (which will not be seen); a 2” x 2” square of red velvet, and a wide selection of 1.5” wide precut strips of assorted fabrics. We fold the muslin backing to find the center and fold the red velvet square to find the center, then baste the red center to the center of the muslin. We place the strips one by one, right sides together with the hearth, sew and press open, continuing until we have a reasonably precise 12” x 12” square, then we finish the Log Cabin block into a pillow. 

Choosing the next strip of fabric can open doors to conversations about how one color affects our perception of its neighbor, and about the (often surprising) interplay between the colors. For example, a medium value color looks light next to a darker fabric, and dark next to a light fabric. This interaction can be an eye-opener in community building, and metaphorically, this can extend to personal relationships. 

The repetitious nature of the sewing allows conversations to flourish; the focus on precision seems to keep the noise level down. The teacher can then observe and support the students as needed without rushing. I remember observing a small group of particularly raucous 7th grade boys, but as they worked, their conversations were deep and broad-ranging, and one boy’s particular care and precision flagged him as a future engineer. In fact, I recently heard he was assembling Mars Rovers in the clean room at JPL. 

Within the constraints of a classroom, I did not attempt to co-ordinate a quilt including each student’s square. More time and precision would be needed for that! However, as they neared completion, I always had the students lay their squares on a big table to ‘play’ with different ways to arrange multiple squares. There are SO MANY options! This is a real, hands-on exercise in community and a tactile experience of how even the most (particularly the most disparate elements) can come together to make an astonishingly harmonious whole.

Here are some examples: 

There are many more examples and options: hexagons instead of squares; using luxurious or particularly tactile fabrics; ‘crazy’ quilts, where the size and shape are fairly random; or using only solid colors, etc. The possibilities can be explored by faster working students. 

In an upcoming blog, I will write about another window into traditional quilting and how this can support your classroom work, and provide cross-curricular experiences as we explore the traditions of English Paper Piecing. This is an excellent way to put little scraps of fabric to use, and can take the complexity of design one step further. 

To explore these ideas and techniques further, join us at one of our summer conferences:

Join us in online in June and learn to make your own Log Cabin quilt square as we journey through grades 1 to 8 handwork. One Continuous Thread: Introduction to Teaching Handwork Grades 1-8

Click Here to Learn More About June Conference

Join us online in July as we explore neurodiversity and sensory processing. Clearing the Path: Supporting Every Child's Journey.