Hibiscus Handwoven Quilt

R48,000

This handwoven quilt is completely unique – I’ll never get these same colours or weave the same patterns in the exact same way again. The design was inspired by the timeless beauty of stripes, checks, gingham; the elegance of simple plain weave. I pieced the fabric together in a patchwork that somehow feels both old and modern.

I think it would fit perfectly in any home and will stand the test of time (I’d love for it to be passed on to the next generation). The cotton is so soft and I find the weight of it so comforting – this is my favourite kind of quilt.

It all started with second-hand, 30 year old cotton bobbins that were just gathering dust, waiting for someone to see potential in them. I bought all the bright pinks and reds I could find (all labelled 1994!) and made a striped warp with them. I wove yardage with the feeling that I’d eventually use it for something special but wasn’t sure what that would be, so I left this pile of fabric untouched for a while.

That is until until I made a large patchwork quilt from offcuts from the fashion industry, and loved the weight and bulk of it. I imagined how special and soft a fully hand woven quilt could be and dreamt this one up! Both sides feature the pink and red handwoven fabric (making it fully reversible); the pink is vibrant and bright and reminiscent of the hibiscus growing in my parent’s garden, hence it’s name.

Process:

All the fabric in this quilt was hand woven on my floor loom, Norma, and machine pieced together in a large patchwork with cotton sewing thread. The batting (the layer in the middle of the quilt that gives it warmth and weight) is 100% cotton.

I hand quilted the sides together with thick cotton sashiko thread, then machine stitched the binding on one side and finished it with hand stitching on the other. The binding features different handwoven fabrics patchworked together.

Materials :