Brant Heritage Quilters Guild donates fidget quilts to Lansdowne Children's Centre

Fidget quilts are a beautiful combination of form and function.

Members of the Brant Heritage Quilters Guild (BHQG) have been making these types of quilts for about two decades.

Sue Baldauf joined the guild in 2002, and has held several roles in the group’s executive, including president. She noted that the concept of touch quilts – precursors to fidget quilts – was first brought to the guild by member Trudy Baumgarten.

“The touch quilts were certainly trendy,” Sue said, adding, “With touch quilts, our focus … would be for a sensory experience.”

The quilters would incorporate a range of fabrics in these projects so as to have multiple textures: silky, smooth, rough, bumpy, etc.

Fidget quilts are a little different in that in addition to utilizing different fabrics, textures and colours, they will also have objects attached, like ribbons, beads, zippers, etc. that – as the name suggests – can be played or fidgeted with.   

“It provides gentle sensory stimulation,” Sue said, adding,

“(Fidget quilts) are a great calming tool and give the user a relaxing tactile experience.”

Back when the trend was more towards touch quilts, when a new member would join the BHQG, they were encouraged to make touch quilts.

“We provided them with some fabric to sew together and everything,” Sue said. “The problem with that was, the beginner quilters were often beginner sewers, and we were sending them difficult fabrics to put together. There was a lot of frustration. Since then, we've taken that element out; we've taken the hard-to-work-with fabrics out of the mix.”

That isn’t to say the guild doesn’t still make fidget quilts – on the contrary, these types of quilts, along with comfort quilts, are the cornerstone of the group’s Community Outreach program, which is currently headed up by Stephanie Nemeth and Ruth Cripps.

Besides working on their own projects, guild members will regularly donate supplies and/ or volunteer their time to making quilts on behalf of the guild that are in turn donated to various community organizations and not-for-profits, including Next Steps Housing, Victim Services of Brant, the Alzheimer’s Society, various retirement and long term care homes, and most recently, Lansdowne Children’s Centre.  

“That’s our goal of the guild,” Sue said, “to serve the community.”

Joy Archer, who has been a member of the guild since 1994, is a dedicated volunteer with the Community Outreach program.

She first became interested in touch and later fidget quilts because of a loved one.

“My husband had Alzheimer's dementia, so I thought ‘I’ll take it on in memory of him,’” she said, noting that she had taken some of the quilts into the long-term care home where he was, and appreciated seeing firsthand how much the residents enjoyed them.

“He liked his, too; he thought his was more of a lap warmer,” Joy said.

The guild is always welcoming new members; if you already know how to sew, they are grateful for more hands to volunteer with the Community Outreach program. Alternatively, if you don’t know how to sew yet, many of the members are willing to share guidance and tips as you learn, and the guild regularly hosts learning workshops.

Throughout most of the year, guild meets once a month in person at St. George United Church. For more information about upcoming meetings and the guild’s community involvement, visit the group’s Facebook page or website, brantheritagequiltersguild.com.

Also, keep an eye out for updates for the guild’s special event in September, the Once Upon a Quilt Expo, which will be held in the Brantford Best Western.

Tips from the BHQG when making a fidget quilt:

• Use bright, gender-neutral colours; contrasting colours can also help make it ‘pop’

• If you’re not sure what elements to include, choosing a theme for the quilt, like cats or nautical, can be helpful guide

• It’s great to incorporate various textures – soft, fuzzy, bumpy, etc.

• Fidget items shouldn’t be too small, so as to present a choking hazard if they become detached.

• Zippers, buckles, clips and pockets can all be fun fidget items

• Since the quilts might end up being cleaned in an industrial washing machine at high temperatures, it’s recommended that quilters avoid using wools or polyesters that might not stand up to the harsher care