Collecting the squares
The call for squares went out on September 13, 2001. The first ones arrived about two weeks later. By December 2001, the plan had settled on five flag-style quilts. The first deadline was July 4, 2002; it was pushed back to December 2002 so more stitchers could take part. In the end, the squares came out to exactly the number the five quilts needed.
Assembly, 2003–2004
- : the 117 squares of the World Trade Center quilt are sewn together, followed the next day by the 117 squares of the Pentagon quilt.
- : the 50 state squares are fused onto the blue field, then machine appliquéd around each star.
- : the red-and-white stripes for the FDNY and NYPD quilts are finished.
- : the World Trade Center quilt top is complete, roughly 91 by 160 inches.
- : the Pentagon quilt top is complete, also about 91 by 160 inches.
- : the NYPD quilt top is complete.
- : the FDNY quilt top is complete.
- : four of the five quilts are finished except for binding.
- : the Pennsylvania quilt top is complete.
The Pennsylvania quilt
The Pennsylvania quilt is different from the other four. Instead of a flag, it is cut in the outline of the state, with red fabric marking the border. Squares from Pennsylvania stitchers are placed on the map near the towns they came from. The square for Somerset County, near Shanksville, marks where Flight 93 came down; it is outlined in red, and beside it is a square stitched with the words “Let’s Roll.” The background fabric is blue with tiny stars.
Quilting and finishing
Machine quilting a piece this large is a long job: once a quilt is loaded on the frame, it stays there until it’s done. The Red Barn Quilt Shop in Belleview, Florida quilted the World Trade Center and Pentagon quilts at reduced cost, raising the money through donations at the shop, and the owner’s sister quilted the FDNY and NYPD quilts. An Alabama quilter finished the Pennsylvania quilt at no charge. Air-Lite Synthetics donated the batting for all five, and the binding was cut from fabric printed with the Pledge of Allegiance. See the full list of businesses that helped.
Want to build one?
We’ve turned the lessons from this project into a step-by-step guide: how to organize a memorial quilt. The finishing steps the project used are covered too: the double-fold binding that edges almost every quilt (how to bind a quilt), and the label that keeps a quilt's story attached to it (how to label a quilt). If you're new to all of it, start with how to make a quilt.