Quilt Informational Packet
Storybook Quilts and Blues Chapel
Erin Staniszewski
5/27/2009
Lesson Plans
-Paper QuiltsIn this unit, students investigate fractional parts of the whole and use translations, reflections, rotations, and
line symmetry to make four-part quilt squares. Teams of students make paper quilts from squares they have
designed. Each team presents its quilt design to the class and describes how they arrived at the design. The teams
analyze the different quilt designs and discuss the numerical and geometrical similarities and differences among
them. There are many chances to integrate Social Studies and Art in this unit.
Math Content
Students will:
-explore ways to divide squares into equal parts
-use geometric and factional terms to name the parts of those squares
-explore the results of translations, reflections, rotations, and line symmetry
Individual Lessons
Lesson 1 – Parts of a Square
Students investigate the way shapes can be divided into equal pieces with one or two cuts. It provides a review of
the following vocabulary terms: square, triangle, and rectangle; congruent, one-half, and one-fourth. The other
lessons in this unit build on this introductory lesson.
Lesson 2 – Describing Designs
Students create designs and describe them to a classmate, using fractional and geometric terms. It provides a
context for using the following vocabulary terms: horizontal, vertical, square, rectangle, triangle, diagonal, one-half,
and one-fourth.
Lesson 3 – Exploring Flips and Slides
This lesson builds on the previous two lessons and encourages students to explore the geometric transformations of
reflection and translation. Students create a design then, using flips and slides, make a four-part paper “mini-quilt”
using that design as the basis. While the formal terms are reflection and translation, the more informal terms slide
and flip are used at this stage. The experience focuses students’ attention on the changes these geometric
transformations make in a student-designed quilt square.
Lesson 4 – Exploring Turns
This lesson encourages students to explore the geometric transformation of rotation. Students create a design then,
using turns, make a four-part paper “mini-quilt” with that design as the basis. While the formal term is rotation, the
more informal turn is used at this grade band. The experience focuses students’ attention on the changes the
geometric transformations make in a student-designed quilt square.
Lesson 5 – Analyzing Designs
This lesson encourages students to explore the geometric transformation of rotation, reflection, and translation more
fully. Students create a design then, using flips, turns, and slides, make a 4-part paper “mini-quilt” square with that
design as the basis. This experience focuses students’ attention on both the changes produced by the geometric
transformations and on line symmetry.
Lesson 6 – Planning and Making a Mini-Quilt
Students create a quilt using the three transformations and investigate the ways shapes can be colored to show onehalf and one-fourth. They locate lines of symmetry and create a set of directions for making their quilt block.
-Additional information regarding individual lessons and other materials can be found at
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=U104
-Patterning in QuiltsMath Content
Students will be able to:
-use reasoning abilities to perceive patterns.
-communicate mathematical ideas in a variety of ways, including words, numbers,
symbols, pictures, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, and models.
-connect mathematical learning with other subjects, personal experiences, current events,
and personal interest.
-Use mathematics as a way to understand other areas of the curriculum (e.g.,
measurement in science, map skills in social studies)
-describe two and three-dimensional figures (e.g., circles, polygons, trapezoids, prisms,
spheres) by
-Naming them
-Comparing, sorting, and classifying them
-Explaining how these figures are related to objects in the environment.
Goal: Students will understand the use of the mathematic principle of patterning in quilt design.
Objectives:
1) Students will be able to give a verbal definition of the word pattern.
2) Students will complete patterns started for them.
3) Students will create simple patterns using 2, 3, 4, and 4 colors and 2, 3, 4, and 5
shapes.
4) Students will use tolls such as a compass, ruler, protractor, and markers to design a
quilt square using color and shape patterning.
What is a pattern? A pattern is a repeated design of shapes and / or colors.
The above pattern repeats three different shapes while the pattern below repeats the same shape,
but in different colors.
Blue
Red
Yellow
Blue
Red
Yellow
Blue
Red
Yellow
Patchwork quilts are often based on patterns. A certain combination of shapes, colors, or fabric
designs repeats to create the pattern. Here is a simple example:
This quilt is made up of nine squares that alternate in color: in this
case the colors are red, yellow, red, yellow, etc. In a quilt, this
block might be combined with other 9-square blocks to create a
pattern like you would find on a checkerboard.
Another pattern can be found in the Grandmother’s Flower Garden
quilt block. This pattern combines different colors or fabric designs
of hexagons to create a flower shape.
Can you complete the following pattern by filling in the colors?
Create your own pattern using 2 colors. Next, try patterns of 3, 4, and 5 colors. Do the same
using 2, 3, 4, and 5 shapes. Choose one of your designs to use on an 8” x 8” square piece of
paper. Make the pattern as neatly as you can, using tools like a ruler, protractor, compass,
markers, etc. Color the design with markers or crayons. After each student has created a design,
post the quilt squares on a bulletin board to create a class quilt.
Here is a list of shapes that students may choose to use in their quilt designs:
Square
Rhombus
Rectangle
Pentagon
Circle
Hexagon
Triangle
Octagon
Parallelogram
http://www.myhistorymuseum.org/documents/PatterningInQuilts.pdf
Brief History of Quilting
The art of quilting involves several different techniques. From around 1780 to the
present, many quilters used the piecing technique to achieve beautiful quilts. Called Pieced or
Patchwork Quilts, they were made out of pieces of fabric sewn together to make a specific
design. Quilters use three layers of fabric when making their quilts. These three layers, the
patchwork, insulation or batting, and the backing material are sewn together to create a finished
product. Most popular from 1750 to 1850, quilters used the whole cloth technique. The Whole
Cloth Quilt is made from one large piece of fabric that is embellished with quilting patterns and
stitches. An additional technique for quilters is found using Appliqué. Extremely popular
between 1775 and 1865, Appliqué involves using pieces of fabric, embroidery, or other materials
that are then sewn onto another piece of fabric to create a design or pattern. With the onset of
the civil war in 1861, women began to make quilts in order to make money to support the war
efforts. They sent quilts to soldiers to keep warm and for other practical purposes. As quilting
techniques continued to progress over the years, Crazy Quilts began to develop. The Crazy Quilt
is made from a block of fabric that is assembled from irregular and often scrap pieces, the overall
work had no set pattern or design. Popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s, quilters began to
progress into the use of embroidery and embellishment to achieve the overall look of the quilt.
With the establishment of Quilt Guilds in the 1920s, women began to join the social groups as a
way to share projects and instruction with each other. The guilds were also able to support the
pattern publication efforts that had begun in 1855. As patterns were collected and distributed
amongst guild members, the traditional quilting techniques remained popular. However, as
America transitioned into the 1960s, quilts became more popular as art pieces and began to lose
their previous tradition of function.
(www.womenfolk.com)
(http://www.pbs.org/americaquilts/resources/glossaryF_L.html)
(http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/civil_war/)
Quilt Pattern Examples
9-Patch
Civil War
Prairie Queen
Bearpaw Pattern
Jacob’s Ladder