Bryan Community students sew special quilts with children's clothes

June 3, 2025

Bryan Community students stitched together special moments with their children this spring by including their baby clothes in keepsake quilts.
 
Student-parents partnered with the International Quilt Museum (IQM) to create lifelong memories during the project. Bryan Community teacher Ellie Pearson, IQM Education Coordinator Lindy Clausen and IQM Education Intern Nani Anjolok helped students make personalized block quilts throughout the fourth quarter. Many of them incorporated pieces of baby onesies alongside colorful fabrics into their comforting artworks.
 
Bryan Community student Malia said it was exciting to watch her daughter’s eyes light up when she first saw the quilt. She said it was encouraging to sew something unforgettable for her.
 
“I always knew I wanted to do something with her clothes, but this gave me more of an opportunity to do something with it,” Malia said. “Ellie’s a very good teacher, so she taught me how to do everything.”
 
Pearson said she has enjoyed watching the mothers and father in the class take the quilts from concept to creation.
 
“I think it’s really meaningful to them, and it’s something that they can pass down to their children that they made,” Pearson said. “I think it’s really special for them to be able to give their kids something personal to have.”
 
Pearson began leading Bryan Community students in her classroom this past fall. The parenting course focused on life lessons such as cooking, sewing and other hands-on skills. Pearson and Clausen have known each other for many years, and they worked together to make the sewing unit memorable for everyone.
 
“Lindy is one of my good friends, and she reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, what if we partnered and I could come make quilts with them?’” Pearson said. “And I said, ‘Let’s do it!’ It’s been a fun partnership.”
 
Clausen said it was heartwarming to get to know the parents and watch them work through the challenges of quilting. They learned how to sew, bind and piece fabric together and lay it out in a block design. The blocks included cartoon characters, plush animals, hearts, stars and many other patterns.
 
“Any art material, but especially fabric, can have its own personality sometimes, so to just maneuver it was challenging,” Clausen said. “Also, baby clothes are not the easiest things. They’re not like quilting cotton, so they would stretch and provide an extra challenge, but the students did an awesome job.”
 
Pearson said Clausen and Anjolok made a difference with their caring approach to the process. Many students had never used sewing machines before, but they gained confidence in their abilities as their quilts took shape.
 
“They did a really good job of stepping alongside the students and helping them with the project,” Pearson said. “It can be stressful to do something new like this, so they were very positive and encouraging and helped them a lot with the steps.”
 
Malia used many soft colors such as light pink, yellow and tan in her quilt. She included several blocks of Minnie Mouse and added drawings of Winnie the Pooh and Hello Kitty characters in her design. She stitched 49 blocks into her square-shaped quilt.
 
What was it like to see the finished product?
 
“Amazing,” Malia said. “I didn’t think I was going to do it that well, actually, but I’m glad that I got everything put together and it all worked out well.”
 
Malia said the quilting project was one of the many highlights of the class for her. She said Pearson has helped her become a better parent by giving her the tools she will need to be successful.
 
“This class has helped me become more hands-on with cooking, sewing, crafts,” Malia said. “It gives me a better experience of doing things with my child. It’s been really good. This class has just been fun in general.”
 
Pearson said she would like to expand the partnership between Bryan Community and the IQM in the future. She and Clausen are exploring the possibility of having students take field trips to the museum as part of the parenting class. Clausen and other IQM staff members lead multiple quilting workshops for children, young adults and families throughout the year.
 
“I think that would be cool to have the moms and dads go over there and get a tour and see what else is available for them,” Pearson said.
 
Pearson and Clausen joined many Bryan Community students this spring to celebrate their finished quilts. They wrapped their children in the textile art, watched them smile in quilt-lined chairs and hung their artwork on one of the walls. Clausen said the experience was the final stitch in a season full of special moments.
 
“It was very sweet, because the quilts are meaningful to them and their child,” Clausen said. “It’s just been really fun to get to know them and see them work through the challenges of quilting and learn a new skill.”

To learn more about Bryan Community, visit our website at https://bryan.lps.org/. 
 
Do you have a story idea? Share it with the LPS Communications Team by filling out this form!

---