Mid-Modern Charley Harper is a modern quilt inspired by the distinctive artwork of Charley Harper, using fussy-cut prints framed in a bold mid-century modern design.
Quilt Details
Dimensions: 50″ x 60″
Completed: June 2026
Techniques: Piecing and fussy cutting
Materials: 100% cotton batik, solids, and licensed Charley Harper prints
Batting: Wool
Quilting: Edge-to-edge Interlocking Squares pattern by Urban Elementz
Design: Original design
The Story
I was a fan of Charley Harper’s work long before I ever started quilting. My first introduction to his art came after a summer working at Carlsbad Caverns, when I discovered one of his National Parks posters, The Desert in the museum shop. I loved it immediately.
The connection became even more meaningful when I learned that Harper was a Cincinnati artist—my hometown. Over the years, I collected several of his signed lithographs, which now hang in my living room.
So when I discovered Charley Harper fabric, making a quilt with it seemed almost inevitable. I wanted the fabric to remain the focus, so I fussy-cut the prints to showcase the individual birds, animals, and other elements of Harper’s distinctive artwork. The clean lines and bold framing of the quilt draw on the mid-century modern aesthetic that feels so at home with his work.
Mid-Modern Charley Harper brings together two things I love: the distinctive artwork of an artist I have admired for years and my own love of creating with fabric. It feels especially fitting to interpret Harper’s work through quilting, using color, shape, and pattern to celebrate the playful spirit of his designs.
