I sit, I stitch, Sew Far Sew Good

I say good day to you on this day in your time!

I go by Slipstitch and I blog about quilty, thready, fiber art-sy goodness. I have been sewing since I was a toddler, and have had a life long love for all things yarn related. I sew my and my husband's costumes for cosplay and medieval fantasy and reenactment adventures, and adore quilting.

I made this blog because I wanted to do more in depth digging on my passion projects and wanted to share with those who might appreciate it. I'm hoping to post at least once a month (possibly with some sporadic smaller posts mixed in), and include all the goodies I have been looking up recently.

With two dogs, two cats, several invert pets, a day job, and a husband, life can be kind of hectic. I'm creating this space to give me, and folks like you, a small corner of quiet to enjoy the some of softer things in life. I'm thrilled to have you join on this venture with me!

I’ve been sick for the past week, and have been searching for something low energy to do while my head has been stuffed with goo and I’ve been stuck on the couch. I’ve also recently made it my goal to make all my friends quilts, so I’ve been up to my ears in pattern searching.

The friend who’s quilt I’m currently working on has a classic gothic style with a love for vintage Halloween motifs. He is also the hardest person I have ever shopped for a gift for. Enter: The Coffin Quilt!

(blocks I have finished)

My search was sparked after finding this post on reddit by U/TammyMcgowan

This style of coffin quilt is done with the English paper piecing method, in which you baste a small piece of fabric to a paper form, and then you stitch the pieces together with something like a whip stich or a flat back stich. this was great, however, I already had a rather complex EPP project going in the form of a rainbow Jack’s Chain quilt, so I wasn’t eager to start a new hand project.

I continued sleuthing around the internet for the perfect coffin quilt. Surely there were enough alternative quilters out there for me to find something. I landed on this instructable where user EmilyH172 walks the viewer through making a coffin quilt in a quilt-as-you-go style, where one makes individual mini quilts with top, batting, and backing, and sews those together using a similar stitch to EPP. I love how this quilt came out but again, I just wasn’t in the mood to hand finish an entire other quilt top with my Jack’s Chain so incomplete.

My search continued far and wide, and I finally landed on Destach Co.’s video on youtube and their absolutely wonderful brown and orange lap quilt which puts some festive Halloween prints to good use

Destach uses Jeni Baker’s pattern found here

Baker developed these coffin blocks after looking for the perfect fit for a Buffy the Vampire inspired quilt she was putting together for a friend.

(Isn't this quilt to die for?? You can see the coffin in the upper right quadrant of the quilt)

After redrafting it to fit her decorating vision, Baker reused this motif to make a Halloween themed pillow for her living room chair. She then offered this pattern for free on her blog

This style of block is done with a sewing technique called Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP). FPP is a style of machine piecing that uses a piece of foundation paper and a piece of foundation fabric to start, and uses a stitch-and-flip method of adding more fabric in a way that allows for more precision.

This may the quilt I have been searching for my ungiftable gothic friend!

I had briefly toyed with FPP early during the pandemic but had to put it away due to life circumstance. These days are far less tumultuous for me personally, and I recently unearthed that same forgotten project and have been since been on the lookout for the perfect pattern to get back into the swing of this technique. These coffins plus some truly frightful charm squares I had also dug out of storage fit my needs perfectly. The best part? No hand sewing!

While I was doing the digging on these coffin quilt blocks, I also stumbled into the mention of the Graveyard Quilt.

This Civil War Era mourning quilt displays coffins around the boarders and in the center. These coffins are labeled with the names of quilt creator Elizabeth Roseberry (Mitchell)’s family members. When one of her family members passed away, their coffin was removed from the outside and moved into the center courtyard of the quilt. The Graveyard Quilt is currently in Kentucky Historical Society’s artifact collection, and an unfinished predecessor is believed to reside in the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center in Ashland, Kentucky

I loved this design so much I wanted to dig around to see if there were any modern recreations or renditions. To my delight, there were!

This redesign of the Graveyard Quilt was done by Deidre from https://inarticulatequilter.wordpress.com/ and can be found here [https://inarticulatequilter.wordpress.com/tag/coffin-quilt/] It features a similar design done in a modern purple and grey color scheme and features the names of deceased tv show characters who’s death impacted the artist. Makes me want to do one for some sci fi shows I’ve watched!

Another modern, though much less fandom influenced version is from @/oneiricjustin on TikTok

Here the artist did a slightly different design for their quilt, utilizing pinwheel rail fence blocks and 3d, stuffed coffins instead. I like this quilt a lot because it shows that other patterns can work just as well for mourning quilts as the more intricate designs.

While the quilt that the previous example is inspired by is unique in its construction, mourning quilts were popular all over during the civil war era of the U.S. This tradition is still impactful today, with many people making mourning quilts for various reasons. One that many people are familiar with is the AIDS quilt. You can find an interactive version of the AIDS quilt here

The AIDS quilt is a huge community art project that features panels that measure 3ft x 6ft (or the size of a grave) that have the names of those that have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS embroidered or sewn into them. This quilt contains about 50,000 panels, 110,000 names, and now weighs over 54 tons. This quilt was originally created in fear that the names of those who have passed on due to this disease might not be remembered because of their possible LGBT+ status.

Mourning quilts are still used today to help people process their complex emotions and grief over life events. Another style of mourning quilt frequently found are those quilts which are made from the clothing or personal items of the deceased. These quilts vary enormously in design and style, size, and even shape. Some people will get their loved one’s clothes turned into wall hangings or even quilted teddy bears.

Other mourning quilts are more about contending with life around us. Artist Sabine Heinlein from the Animal Quilter Blog designed and stitched this Egyptian Book of the Dead themed, sleeping bag styled quilt in order to help process feelings brought forth by the raising death toll during the pandemic.

While coffin quilts might not have played as heavily into the human mind as I originally expected when I started this quest, they still play an incredibly important role in the lives of those that do take the time to create them. I know my own coffin quilt will be loved with enthusiasm by it’s recipient, and I hope you will consider making one on your own. See you next time!

Honorable mentions found while searching:

This black and red quilt by user VampiressKitti on DeviantArt

User @/aposematic_arts on tiktok showing EPP sewing in real time on their coffin quilt