How to Make a Sea Glass Quilt?

Making a quilt using sea glass adds natural beauty and texture to a cherished homemade item. With some preparation and basic quilting techniques, you can create a meaningful quilt using sea glass, fabric and batting.

Follow these steps for a guide on gathering supplies, constructing the quilt sandwich, adding decorative stitching with sea glass accents and caring for the finished product.

Gathering Materials

Before beginning your sea glass quilt, you need to collect all of the necessary supplies. The main components include:

Sea Glass

Sea glass refers to shards of glass that have been smoothed by many years tumbling in the ocean. Collect sea glass in an array of colors so you have options when placing on your quilt.

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Neutral toned fabric allows the sea glass shades to stand out. Gather more sea glass than you think you’ll need in case some pieces get damaged.

Fabric

100% cotton quilt fabric works best. Choose a neutral solid or subtle print for the background and several coordinating fabrics for the borders and binding. Make sure you purchase 1⁄2 yard to 1 yard cuts of each fabric depending on the finished size of your quilt.

Other Supplies

• Quilt batting
• Neutral colored thread
• Quilting needles
• scissors
• Rotary cutter and self-healing mat
• Straight pins
• Fabric glue sticks
• Iron and ironing board

Preparing the Sea Glass

Once you’ve collected sea glass in an array of colors, you’ll need to clean, sort and arrange it before adding it to your quilt.

Cleaning

Use warm water and mild soap. Gently scrub each piece with a soft brush and rinse well. Spread out on a towel and allow to completely dry.

Sorting

Sort sea glass by color in groups of light, medium and dark values. Having shades of the same color family can create an appealing ombre effect on your quilt.

Arranging Colors

Experiment arranging pieces on your background fabric before permanently gluing them down. An overall random pattern stitches well and allows the sea glass to shine.

Making the Quilt Top

The quilt top consists of the decorative sea glass against a fabric background framed by borders.

Cutting Fabric

Background Fabric

Cut background fabric 6-8 inches larger than your desired finished quilt size. This allows extra for straightening and trimming later.

Border Fabric

Cut strips the width of your fabric selvedge edge for the borders. Piecing is not necessary. The length depends on the size of your quilt minus seam allowances.

Creating a Design

Create a loose design by arranging the sea glass on the quilt backing, varying shapes and colors. Move pieces around until you’re satisfied.

Sewing on Sea Glass

Use fabric glue sticks to adhere each sea glass piece to the quilt backing, following your planned design. Allow to fully dry before moving to the next steps.

Assembling the Quilt Sandwich

The quilt sandwich consists of the decorative quilt top, insulating batting and sturdy backing.

Making the Backing

The backing is usually one piece of solid fabric cut larger than the quilt top. Plan for at least 4 inches of excess on all sides.

Making the Batting

For best results, use 100% cotton quilt batting cut 3-4 inches wider and longer than your backing fabric. This provides extra support for decorative stitching.

Putting the Layers Together

On a large, flat surface layer backing fabric right side down, then batting, centered evenly and finally quilt top centered and right side up.

Quilting the Layers

Quilting stitches secure all the layers together both functionally and decoratively. You have a couple of options for achieving this.

Tying Method

The fastest and easiest technique is tying knots. Thread a hand sewing needle with coordinating embroidery floss. Then stitch through all layers and knot on quilt top. Space ties every 3-5 inches.

Free Motion Quilting

For added durability and design, free motion quilting around each sea glass piece creates dimension. Use a darning foot and neutral colored thread in the bobbin and as thread top.

Adding the Binding

Binding encases the raw edges neatly with coordinating folded fabric strips.

Cutting Strips

Cut 2 1⁄2” strips across the width of fabric. Piece them together to make one very long strip. Trim seam allowances. Press strip in half lengthwise with wrong sides together.

Sewing Strips

Leaving an 8” tail, align binding strip raw edge to quilt edge beginning halfway down one side. Sew with 1⁄4” seam allowance. Wrap around corners. Stop 8” shy of where you began. Trim excess binding.

Finishing Edges

Complete your stitching line. Fold over tail ends. Hand stitch folded edge on backside. Stitch final 8” section closed. Voila!

Caring for Your Quilt

With gentle care, your sea glass quilt will become a cherished heirloom to enjoy for years.

Washing

Machine wash cold with mild detergent. Line dry or dry on low setting. Do not bleach.

Storage

Avoid direct sunlight which can fade fabric over time. Refold slightly different each time to avoid permanent creases through sea glass.

Displaying Your Quilt

A sea glass quilt adds a coastal feel, sparkle and personal touch to bedroom décor. Drape it over a sofa or chair as an accent piece. Or display it neatly folded on a shelf so the sea glass shimmers.

Conclusion

Creating a sea glass quilt combines the love of quilting with the joy of collecting bits of ocean treasure. Prepare the glass and fabric with care, assemble the layers meticulously and add decorative stitching for dimension and detail.

The finished project results in a meaningful, nautical-inspired quilt to cherish and pass down for generations. With each glance, reminisce on special memories at the seaside.

FAQs

How do I incorporate sea glass without it feeling lumpy or uneven through the quilt?
Choose smaller, smoother pieces of sea glass and securely glue to background fabric. Then add sufficient batting over top to create an even quilt sandwich thickness. The free motion quilting also helps reduce lumps.

What if some sea glass pieces fall off while I’m working on the quilt?
Having extra sea glass on hand helps in case a few pieces refuse to stay adhered to the backing fabric. Re-glue any loose pieces securely. Wait until fully bonded before resuming quilting.

Can I make a sea glass quilt if I don’t live near an ocean?
Absolutely! Craft stores sell bags of polished sea glass shapes and colors to mimic the authentic material. Or use other embellishments like beads, buttons or bits of fabric swatches along with the sea glass for added interest.

How do I make sure exposed edges of sea glass don’t scratch or snag?
Pay attention to each piece of sea glass as you glue it onto the quilt top, making sure any uneven sides lay flush against the fabric. The batting and backing provide an additional buffer as well.