Kawandi Quilts

"Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee for success." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Roseanne recently sent me a link to this video on how to make a Kawandi quilt.  I've seen this style of quilt before....but didn't know anything about them.  I watched the video...and went straight to a experimenting without doing any more research.  I  was only marginally successful...but it did peak my interest....and wanted to know more try again.

Kawandi quilts are made by Siddi women.... descendants of early African slaves who migrated to South Asia. The colorful recycled cloth quilts are rooted in their African heritage and designs are unique to family groups. 

Photo found here in this article. 

http://www.henrydrewal.com/exhibit_stitching_history.html

This is actually the second one I tried using a machine technique.  It looks better than my first one....so wanted it to be the first example you saw.

I wasn't going to share this first one I did earlier in the week....but because it's part of my learning process...I decided to show and tell. It's pretty small...basically an oversized coaster.  It has a lot of issues and I broke all the rules. But it was a window into the technique to see whether I wanted to explore Kawandi style quilting further....and I did.

Traditional Kawandi quilts are hand stitched in straight lines....but for some reason I was compelled to stitch around my patches. I guess it was my version of coloring stitching outside the lines. 

I think it would be greatly improved with more stitching.

After this first attempt....I read more about the history Kawandi quilts....and watched several more how-to videos. I happen to come across this tutorial....where Brenda used pre sewn quilt scraps to create a beautiful version by machine.  I was intrigued. 

I couldn't stop thinking about it last night....so had to gave it a try this morning.  I found a stash of scraps, and presewn chunks and strips from a project I never finished: http://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2019/10/one-cup-of-coffee.html  

If you're interested in exploring this technique....I recommend watching online videos......you'll get a lot better information. I really don't know what I'm doing.  But here's a little window into my second experiment.  

I cut a squarish piece of fabric and ironed a hem around all the edges.  I also cut a piece of thin batting. 

In a Kawandi quilt you work from the outside in....folding, overlapping and stitching as you go. Inspired by the video....I did use some of the pre sewn chunks....and you can see that I started with one.  

Many of the videos had you lay them on top of the folds...but I like this of tucking under the folds technique.  It makes for a cleaner edge.

Then I started top stitching right along the edge. Every time I added a chunk I tucked the folded edge under the last raw edge and folded it back. I used a combination of finger pressing and ironing.....there are no exposed raw edges in this type of quilt.

 I kept working my way around adding pieces and stitching along the edge.  Sometimes I used just one fabric scrap....other times I used a pre-sewn chunk.

I didn't do a very good job with that last piece...covering the last opening....but it all got a little wonky in the end....so it fit right in.  It's a learning process.  

Once all the outer edges were covered....I tucked in the batting.

Then I kept top stitching around the piece until I got to a point where I needed to add another patch to cover a raw edge...again by tucking, folding and overlapping.  When I get to the middle...it was a "make it work" moment...I just needed to be sure to cover all the raw edges.

I'm going to try this machine version again....and I'm going to try a more traditional hand stitched version again too. Traditional Kawandi quilts generally have small decorative floating patches called tikeli....my guess is to cover gaps and problem areas.  There are a few trouble spots in this one...so I may add a few tikeli.

The back makes me happy. 

Phew....I should have divided this up into a couple of posts. Congratulations if you made it to the end!  As a matter of fact....I'd love to give this little Kawandi mug rug quilt away.  So if you made it to the end and have any interest in this little wonky experiment....contact me by using the contact link on the blog or comment directly on the blog. If by chance there's more than one....I'll draw a name on Tuesday.