Metal Patchwork Quilt

My most recent project has been in the metal workshop which included learning to weld and I love it! Its all sparks, noise and molten metal - something elemental about the whole process. I wanted to make a metal patchwork quilt using 1mm steel and somehow incorporate the remains of an old patchwork quilt that I had as a child. The concept behind this is to parallel the strength of steel and the strength of family bonds, as shown by the quilt which has been handed down through 3 generations. These are some of the original quilt pieces- they contain fabric from my mum's dresses and and my dresses and pyjamas when I was little. So these material fragments are 50 to 60 years old. I can remember there were always hexagonal shapes of material and paper around the house. My mum used a metal template, paper and material to make the hexagons and then would hand sew them together. I tried to replicate her process and use some of my own children's clothes.

I cut out lots of metal hexagons using the plasma cutter. I loved this process, something about the repetition of cutting the shapes, I used to just get lost in it. And it was great when a hexagon dropped straight out the metal and landed on the floor with a satisfying tinkling noise. I then welded them together, firstly using oxyacetylene then mig welding. The mig welding was easier and faster. I also experimented bending the shapes between metal rollers to see in I could get a fold, like in a blanket. This proved fairly problematic when I put the bigger pieces of welded quilt through the rollers in that it fell apart into quite a few pieces which I had to weld back together.

The video shows me cutting out the hexagons with the plasma cutter. The best bit is the squeal at the end as the bit drops cleanly onto the floor. Satisfying!

I tried several ways to combine the material pieces and the metal pieces.

What was more successful was then using the metal piece I had cut the shapes out of, and draped the material through the holes. I feel this is starting to work better and and am going to continue to develop this further by making it more 3D, making the edges more ragged, maybe roll it and have it standing on the floor.

Here is the final piece.