What does quilting have to do with geometry?

Answer 1

Whenever you are "piecing" (joining shapes of fabric, large or small) when making a quilt, you're using geometry. I didn't do well in the one month of geometry I took in school, but boy did I learn a lot from quilting! You sort of learn on the job... I found it much more understandable, and even interesting, when I could see the principles in concrete action, not just in the abstract.

So for example, even if you're just cutting then joining squares together, you need to understand the importance of making the squares really square (each corner a 90 degree or "right" angle). If you sew a bunch of squares into a row or do a checkerboard pattern with them, that's a grid (geometry).
If you add a simple rectangular border onto a quilt "top," more right angles, and also understanding about adding two opposite-side ones first (and trimming to the same length as the top), then adding the second set of strips on the remaining opposite sides.

Just recognizing shapes --like rectangles, triangles, quarter circles, etc.-- is a big part of looking a quilt patterns and understanding how they're made and how you can create them yourself ...especially geometric patterns.

Some quilters get wa-a-a-y into geometry with the complex shapes they put together, but that's at the extreme end of making quilts. Most are just squares, rectangles, and various kinds of triangles.

(If you're just doing applique, or putting together whole-cloth quilts without even having borders, then there really isn't any geometry involved. And technically "quilting" is the actual sewing through the sandwich of layers of a quilt to hold them together with tiny stitches... even that can have to do with geometry though, at least a little).


HTH,

Diane B.

P.S. The link that Danni included above goes to very complex "kaleidoscope" patterns.... those *can* be made with fabric into quilt blocks or quilts (though somewhat less complex usually) but the ones in that link are just digital images only, created in a computer.... I'll see if I can go get some images of much more common quilt patterns to illustrate that point. . . here are some:
http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=quilt+patterns

this page shows quilt blocks which are created from 9 smaller squares (3 x 3)... each of the smaller squares can also be made up from even smaller squares, triangles, etc.... so these are some pattern possibilities for "9-Patch" blocks:
http://www.quilt.com/Blocks/NinePatchBlocks.html

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Answer 2

That beautiful quilt is not just a piece of art, it is design and symmetry using math problem solving skills to create. (perimeter, area, shapes, and number of pieces needed)
Basic geometry skills are needed when planning a design. Big square shapes turn into triangles, rectangles, circles, etc.
Geometry and it's terminology comes into play when you need to make your shape pieces fit together to make a big puzzle.
Grid boards/graph paper and cutting tools are used.
You need to know how to cut your fabric using angles to get the correct fit.

Answer 3

quilting/piecing is similar to math/geometry in that it uses angles,lines,triangles, ect---- anything using the measuring of angles and placement of squares,lines triangles,octagons, and other shapes and measuresused in geometry(rulers) .

Answer 4

there are TONS of geometric shapes in quilts!

Answer 5

Shapes, sizes...