Currently I’m teaching a Bargello class at the Ultimate Sewing Centre (you can see my version here) from the pattern No-Measure Bargello. It’s a beautiful quilt and a great one for someone who is an intermediate quilter who hasn’t tried a Bargello design before. Some of them are quite complicated because the Bargello design can twist and turn and intertwine…being organized is key. I’ve tried my hand at Bargello quilts a few times so I thought I’d share them with you…some of you may not even have heard of this pattern before.

Bargello is actually a style of needlepoint embroidery that uses upright flat stitches to create designs, traditionally in a “flame stitch”. According to Wikipedia it originated on patterned chairs found in the Bargello Palace in Florence, Italy. Some smart quilter along the way figured out how to replicate the patterns with fabric to create such strikingly beautiful designs.

The first Bargello I ever made came from a photo in a Quilting Arts Magazine from the early 2000’s. There was no pattern, just a very small photo in the corner of one page, but it had me intrigued. I had to try and break it down into components to understand how it actually went together, and with a lot of trial and error I was really happy with how it turned out. It was a “broken” bargello because strips of a singular fabric were inserted in between some of the bargello strips to break up the design. This was made during a period when I was doing a lot of experimentation with beading, couching and other artsy stuff so I had a lot of fun with it. There’s also a curved bottom edge done with a faced edge (like in garment sewing) with beaded fringe to finish it off.

Last September, my hubby and I were to meet Kate’s partner Nick’s parents for the first time and I wanted to make them something for their home. Not knowing anything of their style and colour choices I asked for Kate’s help on this one. She said they decorated with neutral grey and brown tones with a bluish teal as an accent and she had already gifted them a painting that she had made using those colours. Well, that worked out well…I could use the painting as inspiration.

I really lucked out when I found the perfect fabric line, Soar from Northcott Fabrics, at Ultimate Sewing Centre, that worked so amazingly well with Kate’s beautiful painting. A couple of the fabrics even looked like the frothy water and the rocky shoreline in the painting. Prussian Blue and Ebony from Northcott’s Canvas line, as well as a grey dot from my stash, rounded out the rest of the fabrics used.

Looking through some of my books and magazines for an idea of what to make (I knew I wanted to make a table runner) I came across the pattern Winter Whisper from the book Beautiful Bargello. I had already made a smaller version of this pattern for our guild’s Ugly Fabric Challenge, and thought it would work really well with these fabrics. As you can see from the photo above right, the different fabrics were assigned their spots in the runner and to make my life easier I actually created a legend by photocopying the pages and taping the fabrics to their assigned areas. My portable design board was a necessity to keep the pieces in order while sewing. I do admit having to using the seam ripper a few times…it was very easy to sew units in the wrong spot!

I loved the movement of this design and the colour scheme, and the size was perfect for Lina and Angelo’s dining room table. (*** this book is now out of print, but a digital download version is available from the Annie’s website.)

So, if you’re looking for a more challenging pattern to try, look no further than Bargello. Just remember to keep yourself well organized, and take great care with pressing because it can easily go off-kilter (if you need pressing guidance click here). But, when all is said and done, you will be so pleased with this striking design and everyone will marvel at your skills.

Playing Around With Bargello