Making Barn Quilts

Decided to make a couple of barn quilts to hang on the old carriage house/shed in the back that we just painted to spice things up.  I thought I would explain my process here in case anyone would like to try as well.

I found a couple of quilts I liked and then proceeded to print the picture and divided the quilt picture into quadrants.  I then used a bit of math to be able to do it to scale in order to transfer the pattern onto my 4′ x 4′ 3/4″ plywood boards that my hubby got pre-cut at the lumberyard.  We could have cut them ourselves but they do it for free so why not take advantage of their kind service?  😉

Prior to drawing on the plywood I put two coats of exterior primer on each side of the board.  Then I divided the board into four quadrants as I did the drawings.  I made a few mistakes in my measuring (remember measure twice – cut (or in this case, paint, once) so I primed the spots so that I wouldn’t confuse myself later.  This was a bit more complex than some quilts, but so worth it!

I then began painting the first coat one at a time.  Making sure to use the next color that wouldn’t touch the one I previously had done.  I suppose you could use painter’s tape but I have a pretty steady hand and would rather not waste time putting tape down and risking it bleeding under.

 From past experience using the berry paint I knew I was in for a lot of coats of paint for that color.  Most of the rest of them only required two coats.  I did not have too many paints to purchase since I had the majority of them from use on my house already.  The green is from our porch floor, the pale blue from the porch ceilings, the gold is the body of the house and carriage house, the orange from the doors and porch posts, the berry is fro accent on the porch posts.

I did purchase a quart each of deep blue and deep purple paints.

I then bought a couple of empty paint cans to mix white with the blue and purple to get the other shades that I desired without buying so many different colors.  Especially since I wanted different grades of the same colors.

 We have this cute flower in the peak of the house and I love incorporating that into things around the house so it had to go on my barn quilts too.  That I just drew freehand from a picture of the house.  It seemed to be lacking something to set off the center since the orange was the center as well as one of the rays so I decided to edge the center square with navy. I also thought the center flower looked off so I added a couple of side flowers.  Both of those changes made it really stand out.  I am very happy that I did that.

 The other quilt I did was not as complex and I like it but the complex one is just so outstanding.  They both look lovely and add the pop of color I wanted.  I enjoyed the process so much I am thinking of doing some for sale.  I anyone is interested let me know and I would be happy to talk with you about custom making one for you as well.  🙂