The Speakerbox Quilt
This year, our whole family has been very into the YouTube show Battle for Dream Island this year, and I’ve been working on making us an original BFDI quilt. The show is one of a series of “object shows” in which the characters, each one a different object, compete to win a season-long competition.
the first BFDI episodes (Jacknjellify)
The first idea was for me to make a quilt based on the “algebralians” which are numbers and the letter x, but it felt too daunting to piece all the numbers. So we came up with an alternate idea, which is a quilt based on the speaker boxes…
In Battle for Dream Island Elsewhere, there is a challenge in which the contestants make their own speaker boxes in the style of the announcer, who is the host of the first season. Making speaker boxes felt like a nod to the colors and styles of the characters but in a way that was more achievable for me material and skill-wise.
scene from BFDIE episode 8 in which Announcer gifts each contestent with their own speakerbox (Jacknjellify)
The first block I created is the original speakerbox, Announcer. I tested a few ideas in creating the block, and while I’m happy with how it came out, I definitely made some technical changes for the following blocks!
Next up, I made the Firey and Sticker speakerboxes - for these I acquired a 1/4” bias tape maker, which had a learning curve that you may be able to see from right to left here (the orange block has a bit more finesse!
I started out thinking that I would machine applique the bias tape circles, but ended up feeling a lot more confident about the look and feel of hand applique - my handwork skills are superior to my machine skills, and it’s a much cleaner finish:
I’ve knocked out a few more simple Speakerbox blocks, but have also tackled Puffball Speakerbox, which is the one I was the most unsure about…
For this one, I used a fusible (HeatnBond Lite) to applique the soft pink color to my background, then couched super soft fuzzy yarn all the way around the edges, which was a relaxing and fun challenge.
Next up is Hot Dog Speakerbox, there aren’t many images of this one, so I’m going to make some inferences based on the few that I can find!
I’m planning to make 15 blocks in total, and I’m currently at 7/15. While the project is for fun with no hard deadline, I’d like to keep it moving towards completion as quickly as possible, because interests change around here in the blink of an eye! Hoping this quilt will be complete in time to enjoy watching BFDI under it :)