How to Make a Fabric Collage: A Great Project for Kids and Adults

✓Our best-selling online course is back and better than ever! APQS Longarm Certification Sponsored by Quilting Daily has been revised and updated. Not only will you learn how to make beautiful quilts, you’ll also gain skills to turn your passion into a paycheck with tips on how to run your own quilting business.

What do you makers love to do? Make, of course! The second thing makers love to do most is fostering a new generation creatives to carry on their craft. And we think learning how to make a fabric collage is a great way to start educating any fiber artist — whether young or old! So get ready to dive into this oh-sew fun and helpful tutorial inspired by Deborah Fisher!

Our Fabric Collage Inspiration

In Quilt Giving: 19 Simple Quilt Patterns to Make and Give, author Deborah Fisher shares tips on encouraging creativity and introducing kids to quilting through fabric collage.

**Quilt Giving: 19 Simple Quilt Patterns to Make and Give** by Deborah Fisher

Although the idea was inspired by a project for her daughter’s preschool class, it’s easily adaptable for any home with a scrap basket. And chances are if you’re reading this, you’ve got one! Keep reading to check out an excerpt from her book:

Connecting Generations Through Craft with Deborah Fisher

We, as makers and sewists, have materials; we have scraps, bits of ribbon, buttons, whatever. All of this to say — we have the stuff of making. And in turn, our children, grandchildren, and their friends are exposed to those materials for making.

I am always amazed to be reminded that many people are not. They do not walk around with thread stuck to their shirt. And they are not daily, weekly, or even monthly makers. It’s our job to expose them to those materials. Remember that superpower? To get kids started, encourage them to make a fabric collage.

fun-with-fabric-collage-detail-3 — To encourage creativity, cut fabric ahead of time so kids are inspired to use what’s available

A Great Way Keep Kids Busy

Fabric collages are a great project for all ages and can be made by an individual or a large group. You can work one-on-one with your favorite kid or create a mural at a party! When my daughter was in her last year of preschool, it was my job one month to do something special with her class.

Huge bags of scraps in my studio turned into a wonderful fabric collage! Believe me when I say that the colors, prints, and patterns had the preschoolers entranced. The theme that month was buildings, so we made a huge cityscape collage that hung in the classroom for the rest of the year.

How you structure your collage time will depend on your situation, location, and participants. To introduce kids to quilting, you may want to have a quilt theme and make quilt-block collages. Or leave the project open to the imagination of the participants. Whatever you decide, be sure to join in the fun. You may come up with a new quilt design in the process!

What You Need:

✓

Fabric scraps pressed and cut into geometric shapes. Squares, rectangles, and triangles are all that you need, but you could cut your fabric scraps into other shapes as well. If you have a fabric die cutter you can make multiples very quickly. I like to have all of the fabric already cut for use and do not supply any scissors. This encourages creativity in using what is available. It also reduces frustration in trying to cut fabric with scissors and little hands.

✓

Glue, such as white school glue, brushes, and bowls. The natural impulse seems to be to put the glue on the fabric, but this creates a gluey ball of fabric and ruins the enthusiasm for the project. Instead, brush the glue onto the paper so the kids can apply the fabric on top.

✓

Paper for the collage background. Depending on the size of your collage, you may want to use sturdy roll paper (for murals) or smaller paper (for individual collages). The only skills you need are the ability to cut fabric scraps, add paste to the background paper, and let the kids get messy.

Time to Dive In!

So go ahead, set out some paper, glue, and those beloved fabric pieces you’ve been saving for a special occasion. This is one project you’ll treasure forever because you made it together. If you decide to tackle learning how to make a fabric collage, be sure to share your creations with us on Instagram, Facebook, or the comments below.

Happy Making,
Jodi