The Jessie Chorley friendship quilt kit

The jessie Chorley Friendship Quilt kit
is my social and interactive embroidery, applique and
patchwork project that I launched in summer 2017

This kit celebrates my work as a social artist and travelling stitcher with
the main focus being creating friendships through stitch

It celebrates our mutual love of making things with our hands combined with our shared passion for collecting and repurposing fabric, threads and other found ephemera that we continue to gather and collect over time in our own homes and studios.

I was home schooled, by my Mother and textile artist Primmy Chorley. I was educated with creativity at the fore front of my learning. Stitching, printing, woodwork, cooking and making things with my hands was part of my daily education from an early age.

we have always and continue to be a family of makers and make do and menders.

I learnt many of the skills that I am sharing with you today as a textile and paper artist from the like-minded others that contributed to my education, both my Mum and my Grandma still constant inspirations today.

It is this passion for the hand-made that inspires my work as an artist, and my life as a shop owner, traveling stitcher and tutor. It also fires my need and desire to teach my skills to like minded others through my workshops and social craft groups.

Sharing skills, techniques, fabrics and ideas are all things that happen regularly during my workshops.

It is sharing of ideas and inspirations, and the strong friendships that are created through simply sitting and making together that have inspired this friendship quilt project and kit.

Inevitably, by the end of any of my workshops, threads, buttons, fabrics and phone numbers/emails are swapped. And thus the stories that our “needles and threads create” continue to create new friendships, strengthening this narratives through a shared love of making things together.

I am aware that I am not the first person to recognize and be inspired by this communal and mindful way of working. For generations, people have gathered in similar friendship circles, creating long-lasting friendships and memories through the process of making things with their hands. It is with this tradition in mind that I developed the Jessie Chorley Friendship Quilt Kit.

My friendship quilt kits include six hand-illustrated and screen printed templates. These templates are designed to be stitched into, using the threads that I have provided in each kit. These threads are six of my favorite shades of DMC embroidery floss.

Each kit contains a simple cotton base fabric cut to size for you.

Each kit comes with a small envelope of assorted fabric scraps to get you started on the appliqué. Simple applique and hand embroidery are the main techniques used for creating this quilt.

Pre-worn and pre-used fabric is essential in my work as a maker, the deeply embedded narrative inspires each stitch that go on to create my final stories and stitched pictures. Therfore I encourage you to do the same when construction your quilt, rummage in your wardrobe, in your loft or enjoy a trip to a charity or thrift store.

The design itself is based on a coverlet. A coverlet is a two-layer quilt or a quilt with out a middle layer. My finished “friendship quilts” are designed to be quite small 35cm/59cm. This way, they remain quite precious with lots of detailed stitching; a perfect piece of art for your own home or for a gift for a memorable event, beloved friend or family member.

Once you have joined my Friendship quilt project please keep in touch with me via my Instagram feed @jessiechorley where I ask you to regularly tag me and keep me updated. I will then invite you through this feed and through www.jessiechorley.com to social meet ups. There will also be opportunities to exhibit your finished quilts here at my shop or out and about at other locations ongoing in the future.

Each Kit contain the following:

x 6 hand illustrated templates
X 5 skeins of DMC embroidery threads in my favorite colours
A packet of assorted fabric scraps
A simple cotton base fabric
A full paper printed colour instructions booklet
An A5 postcard of my favourite stitch techniques for you to follow

All of the above will come tucked inside a hand screen printed 100% cotton tote bag, so you can carry your ongoing project around with you while it is in progress or when out and about when stitching with friends or family.

I look forward to welcoming you to this ongoing project!

After the popular launch of this kit in August 2017 there are now over 800 fellow stitches taking part in this project from may different places all over this world

Enjoy the adventure of making your own Friendship Quilt and please keep in touch with me once you have started.

Jessie x

Copyright ©JessieChorley all rights reserved this DIY project is an original Jessie Chorley design for personal use only not for re-sale in any form. For collaborations please contact www.jessiechorley.com directly