A few months ago I had never heard of “bargello” but it has been fun learning about it. “Bargello” is a quilting term that refers to a zigzag motif similar to a design found on some chairs in an old fortress (they call it a palace) in Florence, Italy. The Bargello Palace is now a museum, and in it you can find these chairs with the zigzag design in the seat and back coverings.
Some bargello designs are made with needlepoint, but quilters can also make a design that reflects the bargello style. Recently I went to a workshop to learn more about quilting a bargello.
The options are endless, but traditionally the colours are supposed to go from dark to light for that special effect. I did not go out shopping for well-matched colours, but used scraps of what I had. For learning how to do the process, I thought it would work well enough. Others in the workshop had much better colour matches and the effect was much more dramatic.
The process is basically this:
You lay out your strips of cloth using two sets of colours going from light to dark.
Sew the strips together. You even sew the last strip to the first one to make a tube.
Turn the tube sideways and cut into strips again.
Lay them out in a zigzag design that you find pleasing, opening up the top seams for the full length of the strip again. You can see this on some of the samples of designs that other quilters came up with.
The strips will be sewn together and evened out at the top and bottom, then batting and backing and binding is added to finish the quilt.
The possibilities are endless.
Beautiful!
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Thanks, Lacey. It was fun to learn something new and to see what others were doing.
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I knew this was going to be interesting as soon as you said tube. Very creative.
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The reason for the tube (I’ve learned) is so you can rotate the colours until you get them located where you want before cutting it open, and that way you don’t have to cut off and waste all the extra fabric at the ends.
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A wonderful design with beautiful results.
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It will be interesting to see what the end result is. First time for me.
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Wow. What a beautiful pattern one could achieve with this method. Love the color combinations in the photos. I would love to see what you will be making with this technique. Perhaps your next post will show us the finished product! 😀 Thanks for sharing this one.
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LOL I’ll have to wait and see how it turns out first before I promise a picture of the finished product. But it could be fun to do this with some specially thought out colours rather than the scraps grab bag.
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I’d never heard of bargello either, Anneli. This is very interesting. I especially love the bright color choices. Thanks for the intro!
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I briefly wondered if it was a new kind of jellied chocolate bar, but soon found out it was another kind of quilt.
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LOL!
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I like it, great design!
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Could be fun to experiment with.
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Interesting. I can see why you like it.
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Some of the finished quilts done by experts are really amazing.
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Patience comes to mind immediately. Beautiful work for those who know how:)
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Anyone can learn, Dawn. How about sewing a bargello for Ivy?
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When I clicked on the link I thought I’ll learn about a new Italian red wine 🙂
But, this was more colorful 🙂
Cheers !
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Hahaaaaa! That would have been more interesting and I would love to have shared a glass with you.
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Beautiful colours…and I love that pattern. I’ve been to the Bargello in Florence…very old and very lovely!
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That’s funny. I thought about you as I looked up Bargello and found out it was in Florence. I wonder if you saw the chairs. I don’t suppose you would have had reason to notice them.
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My mother taught bargello needlepoint back in the 1960s and 1970s, and I learned from her. I have a beautiful bell pull that she did with several bargello patterns incorporated, and I still have some of her books. It’s great fun, although I preferred using other needlepoint stitches. I never have heard of the technique being incorporated into quilting. I assumed it strictly was used for tapestry/needlework.
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I think originally it probably was mainly for needlepoint, but you know how those quilters are – they’ll try anything. 😉
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And to good effect, I must say! I think the quilting must be far more difficult than the needlepointing.
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To be honest, I think I like the needlepoint better for this style.
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These are all stunning. I had never seen this type of quilting before. Thank you for sharing it.
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I think it’s an interesting way to make a design. Thanks for visiting.
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It seems very complicated and tedious to me, Anneli! Just saying I’m not sure icould do this! I liked the yellow and blues on the spectrum. So fun and challenging! 🙂
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I worked on it again today and it is very tedious. But the end results are pleasing to see.
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I admire people who stay with finishing projects. I start and stop projects often. Sometimes I have to donate them to Goodwill or get someone to take “it” off my hands, Anneli. The end results will definitely be worth the effort!! 🙂
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I used to be way worse than I am now for not finishing projects, but I’m getting a handle on it and don’t allow myself to start new projects until I get old ones done.
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