How to Quilt>Ocean Waves Quilt

Ocean Waves Quilt with Batik Fabrics

 

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Long ago I found some batik fabrics with ocean-type themes – fish, seahorses, things that reminded me of reefs.

And so I decided to make an Ocean Waves quilt, and place the batiks in the center of each Ocean Waves block.

The idea was to go from the dark of the ocean floor up to the waves and sunlight.

The center of each Ocean Waves block featured a batik with a fish or ocean theme. The fabric was "fussy cut" so it would face the right direction when the quilt was hanging.

A question was asked recently about using 100% cotton fabrics in a quilt with batik fabrics. In fact, I do this frequently. Understand that batiks are 100% cotton with a very tight weave - high thread count - giving it a somewhat different feel.

This quilt is a great example of combining 100% cotton fabric with batiks. The batik fabrics are in the center of each of the Ocean Waves blocks, and in the half-square triangles along the sides and top and bottom. The wave-looking fabric in the center of the blocks toward the top of the quilt is a Japanese fabric, 100% cotton.

The waves (all of the small half-square triangles) are made from hand dyed and store-bought 100% cotton fabric. The pink fabric in the border is hand dyed fabric, and the pinwheels are made from the same combination of fabrics as the waves.

This quilt was made in the mid-1980s when I knew nothing about strip piecing triangles, so every on of the triangles was cut individually, and placed on the flannel wall prior to sewing it together.

Although this is a cumbersome way to lay out a quilt, it did give me the opportunity to place the individual half-square triangles in a way that sort of looked like layers.

Plus, as the pieces were hanging next to each other waiting to be sewn, I discovered that I could create little pinwheels at the intersection of the blocks.

That gave me the idea to include the pinwheels in the border strips. I decided to piece the borders because my fabric strips were not long enough for each border, and I try to avoid seams in solid fabric in my borders. One good way is to sew small blocks or patches of contrasting fabric in the borders.

My “fondest” memory of this quilt was during Bubba’s 5th birthday party, one (or probably many) of his friends brushed past my flannel wall and all of the pieces went fluttering down to the floor.

It’s interesting. I love the fabrics in this quilt, but it isn’t one of my favorite quilts. Yet I will hang on to it forever.

 

One section of the Ocean Waves quilt showing the use of the batik fabrics in the center of the blocks. Also showing how you can create pinwheels inside this quilt design.

 

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren

www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

 

©2009, Penny Halgren
Penny is a quilter of more than 27 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

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