AIDS Panels of Remembrance
AIDS Panels of Remembrance
We invite you to commemorate the life of a loved one lost to AIDS by creating a fabric panel memorializing that person. Our purpose is to create community awareness about AIDS, its reality in our area and the effect of HIV disease on our families. Panels put a recognizable face on AIDS. Making a panel for a loved one can become a process of healing as well as grieving. The memorial panels that make up the AIDS Panels of Remembrance were made by all sorts of people, in all kinds of colors, fabrics and styles. You do not have to be an artist to create a moving personal tribute. It doesn't matter if you use paint or fine needle work; every Remembrance is appropriate.
You may choose to create a panel privately, as a personal memorial to someone you've loved, but we encourage you to follow the traditions of old-fashioned sewing and quilting bees, by including friends, family and co-workers. The AIDS Panels of Remembrance is not a chapter of the Names AIDS Memorial Quilt Project nor affiliated with them in any way. However, anyone interested in making a quilt panel for the Names Project is welcome to join us at our sewing sessions.
How To Make A Panel
The following guidelines represent panels that will remain with Stonewall Alliance Center and be displayed through out Northern California. If the panel you are creating will become a part of the Names AIDS Memorial Quilt Project, please create the panel following their instructions.
Design the Panel - The panel can be any size, but please make the panel no smaller than three feet by three feet. Include the name of your friend or loved one. Ordinarily we limit each memorial quilt to one individual. Feel free to include additional information such as the dates of birth and death and a hometown.
Choose your materials - Remember that the panels are folded and unfolded many times, so durability is crucial. A medium-weight, non-stretch fabric such as cotton works best. When you cut the fabric leave an extra two to three inches on each side for a hem. Backing and batting for the panels is not necessary.
Construct you panel - Here are some techniques you may want to use.
Appliqué: Sew fabric letters and small moments onto the background fabric. Please do not glue; it will not last.
Paint: Brush on textile paint or color-fast dye, or use an indelible ink pen. No "puffy" paint; it is too sticky.
Stencil: Trace your design onto the fabric with a pencil, lift the stencil, then use a brush to apply textile paint.
Collage: A variety of materials can be added to panels, but please make sure they won't tear the fabric (avoid glass and sequins for this reason) and please avoid very bulky objects. The best way to include photographs or letters is to copy them onto iron-on transfers, iron them onto 100% cotton fabric and sew the fabric to the panel. You may also put the photograph in clear plastic vinyl and sew it to the panel (off center so that it avoids the fold).
Completing the Panel - When your panel is finished, fold back the hem and secure with a temporary stitch. If you can't hem it yourself, leave two or three inches on each side for the hem and we'll do it for you..