To make a MAAKS Quilt square you will need a piece of "white" Aida measuring a minimum of 7" x 7". The preferred count is 14, however 16 or 18 is fine so long as your square meets the minimum size requirements. *Please be sure to pre-wash your fabric. We have had some problems with shrinkage when the squares are washed. Thank you...
The stitching area should be no larger than 5" x 5". If you are using 14 count fabric your design can be up to 70 x 70 stitches, 16 count would be 80 x 80 stitches and 18 count would be 90 x 90 stitches. Please make sure you centre your design on your chosen fabric. Your signature can be outside the stitching area if necessary.
Now the design; because we don't know exactly what age the recipient of our quilt will be, we want to try to make the quilts appeal to a child aged anywhere from toddler to early teens. We also don't know if the recipient will be a girl or a boy, so for this reason we request that your design be unisex and not too "baby" orientated. The main requirement is a design that is bright, colourful and happy, something that could bring a smile to the face of a child. Some possible suggestions could be animals; either wild, farm or domestic, cartoon characters would also be suitable. You can use a single design or combine several small ones. A simple border design is also a good idea to fill in the space. For more ideas why not check out The Quilts page to see what other stitchers have done or go to our Links page which offer links to sites which offer suitable freebie charts.
Please do not use beads or metallic thread on your designs as we want our quilts to be child-safe. Also, those of you who choose to use back stitching in your design, please limit each back stitch to a maximum 2 stitches in length.
When you have finished your design it needs to be signed. If you are an Aussie then your signature would be: First Name, Last Initial, State. If you are an overseas volunteer your signature would be: First Name, Last Initial, Country. Now that your square is complete, please don't feel that you need to prepare it in any way. eg: by washing or ironing it. This preparation will be done when the quilt is assembled but rest assured your squares will be treated with as much care as you would give them. The ladies who assemble the quilts are fellow stitchers who know the value of your work and will treat your contribution accordingly.
Finally we ask that you send a $2.00 donation along with your finished quilt square. This money covers the cost of making up the quilts, (materials, batting etc), as well as the cost of postage to send the finished quilt to it's destination. If you are an overseas volunteer, then sending $2.00 AUS could be difficult but when we send out our mailing details, we will give you some other options to cover the cost of the donation. |
