Scavenger Chic

Create Your Own DIY Barn Quilt

• By Joan
• July 26, 2023
• 6 Comments

Create Your Own DIY Barn Quilt

I’m probably dating myself, but when I was growing up when you thought of a painted barn it meant that there was an ad for Mail Pouch Tobacco on the side. Apparently, in it’s heyday, Mail Pouch Tobacco ads were featured on over 20,000 barns in 22 states.

“The idea was simple: pay a farmer $1-$2 a month, less than $50 today, for the right to rent the barn for the ads. In the days before interstate highways, these barns, located along main roads, were seen by millions. The farmer not only got one wall of his barn painted, but he was also sent free Mail Pouch Tobacco. The company painted the entire barn once, but a sign painter would periodically repaint the Mail Pouch ads.”  This was from the Hagen History Center in Erie Pennsylvania.

If you were travelling in the rural area of the Pennsylvania Dutch you may have been lucky enough to spy a Hex sign on one of the local barns.  Not for witchcraft, these symbols were meant to bring about luck and protection.  You can read more about their history here.

The newest trend, which frankly is not that new, is to spruce up your barn with a vividly painted barn quilt. 

Just a painted version of Grandma’s old quilt painted directly on a barn or on a board attached to the barn.

They’ve become so popular that barn quilt tours, mostly self guided, have popped up around the country.

Here is everything you always wanted to know about barn quilts and where they can be found.

Enough of everybody else’s barn quilt,  now you have to create your own.  On my son’s new home he has a great big beautiful barn door that was just calling out for a Barn quilt.

This is an oversized garage, not quite a barn, but  could definitely  use a little pop of color.

Start out with a nice piece of exterior grade plywood.  This piece is 4’x4′ but some of the largest barn quilts are as large as 8 feet square, or 2 4’x8′ pieces of plywood joined together.

Paint the plywood with 3 coats of exterior grade primer on both sides and all the edges.

In pencil, transfer your design to your board.  It’s easiest if you draw a grid on both the design you’re copying, and on your board.

Head to your local craft store to choose your favorite outdoor color palette.  We are so fortunate to live in an age where you don’t have to purchase a quart or a gallon of colorful exterior paints.  These are all the Patio Paints, out door paint colors, offered at Hobby Lobby.

Use at least 2 coats of paint on all the painted surfaces.  The barn quilt is going to get a lot of weathering.

If you like, you can use painters tape for a nice straight edge. I personally prefer to paint freehand because painters tape always seems to bleed and I spend just as much time cleaning up all the overages.

I was finished painting my initial design.  You can see part of the original design on the photo above where I’m transferring the design.  I still thought it needed a bit more color.

Back to the internet I went where I found this sunflower barn quilt design.  It’s basically the same quilt pattern  that I used, though my larger blue areas have now been divided in half and extend to where I currently had white near the center.

This is the pattern and colors that I ended up with.

After the 2-3 coats of paint, no further protection is needed.  It should wear just like any other exterior paint.

The barn quilt was leveled and screwed directly to the barn door.

If you decide to create a barn quilt, I would love to see your finished masterpiece.

Until next time, stay inspired.

For more inspiration click here for a gallery of all my DIYs for wall decor and other vintage style signs.

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