My sister and I created this DIY barn quilt for our Mom for Mother’s Day last year. But it just now was put up on the side of the barn so now I can share the process with you all! That’s life for ya right!
Our county and some of the neighboring counties here in NW Oregon have barn quilt squares on barns of various farms. My mom had mentioned multiple times how she would like to have one on the side of their barn. So my wheels began turning!
Here are some pictures of the ones in our area:
My parents live on my paternal Grandparents farm of 40 acres. My Grandma Gen was a quilter and so are some of my Aunts so I did a little asking around to find out if there was a popular quilt square that my Grandma liked and the census was “Grandma’s Flower Garden.”
This project was a fun DIY. I have listed my supplies and steps below if you are interested in tackling a similar project!
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Supplies Needed to Create Your Own DIY Barn Quilt Square:
- A sheet of plywood (Standard size is 4′ x 8′)
- Painter’s tape
- Assorted paint colors
- Sharpie marker
- Outdoor Polyurethane Spray
- Your choice of quilt square pattern
Cutting and Design for Barn Quilt Square
Justin cut the plywood sheet so that it was 4′ x 4′ square. You could definitely make the board any size as long as it is square. Make sure to sand the edges and remove any sawdust from the board before painting.
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My sister drew up the pentagon pattern out of cardboard and identified the center of the shape with a dot through it so that we could center this on the board.
She then traced the pentagons on the board with a permanent marker to match Grandma’s Flower Garden pattern.
Painting Your Barn Quilt Square
Next up it was my turn to paint the board. I ended up buying 2 different paint colors from our local Habitat for Humanity Restore for $3.00/each quart! Since I wasn’t sure what I would find I ended up choosing a light purple and a light blue. I needed 3 more colors so my sister came over with an orange that I mixed with white to dull the color a little bit. My parents then had about a dozen paint samples from when their house was painted so I used 2 shades of the green. I actually didn’t use painter’s tape for my lines, I chose to do it free-hand but if you desire a crisper line then taping off would be best.
I applied 2 coats of each color and finished the “quilt square” off with a white background.
The final step of paint was to apply 2 coats of polyurethane, the one I used is specifically made for using outdoors on wood.
Hanging a Quilt Square on the Barn
I actually wasn’t present for the hanging up the process. I was pleasantly surprised when we pulled into my parent’s driveway one day and it had been hung up! Now I would not recommend the method that my brother and Dad used to hang this up as it’s not very safe but would say that you definitely need more than one person to hang it. I would definitely recommend renting a boom lift if the spot you need to hang it is higher than an extension ladder can reach.
I am really excited how this project turned out and look forward to creating one for our house. We don’t have a traditional looking barn like my parents but we do have an outbuilding that we call a barn. I will share the process of attaching it to our metal sided barn when the time comes. Until then I would love to see pictures of your barn squares!
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