August Is National Make-A-Will Month: Honoring Your Legacy Through Quilting & Crafting

August is National Make-A-Will Month—a time dedicated to planning for the future and ensuring that the things that matter most to you are preserved and passed on. While writing a will may sound like a task reserved for lawyers and paperwork, there’s another, more personal way many of us choose to preserve our legacy: through handmade crafts, quilts, and heirlooms.

Whether it’s a memory quilt, a photo-stitched wall hanging, or a collection of handmade holiday stockings, the time, love, and intention we put into our crafts become a powerful part of the story we leave behind.

🪡 What Is a Legacy Quilt?

A legacy quilt is more than just fabric and thread, it’s a living memory. These special quilts are often created from meaningful materials:

• A loved one’s old shirts or baby clothes
  

• Wedding or anniversary fabrics
  

• Family photographs printed on fabric
  

• Handwritten recipes or messages transferred onto quilt blocks
  
  

Each square tells a story. Each stitch holds emotion. Whether you’re creating one to gift to a loved one or to keep as a family heirloom, a legacy quilt becomes a treasured part of your family history.

✂️ Memory Craft Ideas That Celebrate Life & Legacy

If quilting isn’t your main craft, there are many other ways to turn your memories into meaningful creations:

• Memory Pillows: Use a favorite shirt or dress shirt to create a cozy pillow as a comforting keepsake.
  

• Recipe Towels: Transfer handwritten recipes from loved ones onto tea towels for a functional and sentimental gift.
  

• Scrapbook or Shadow Box: Combine photos, fabrics, lace, and small items into a visual story of a life well-lived.
  

• Holiday Ornaments: Create small felt ornaments embroidered with names, dates, or personal notes to honor family traditions.
  

• Stitched Letters: Embroider a meaningful quote, date, or name to frame or add to a keepsake box.
  
  

💡 Tools That Help You Craft with Purpose

Here at CutterPillar, we believe that creating with intention deserves the right tools—ones that make the process easier, more accurate, and more enjoyable.

Here are a few tools that are perfect for memory projects:

• Glow Ultra Light Board – Ideal for tracing photos, letters, and designs onto fabric.
  

• Tempered Glass Mat – Great for pressing, vinyl work, and fabric prep with its heat-resistant and durable surface.
  

• Swivel Rotating Cutting Mat – Makes precise trimming and cutting fabric squares simple and smooth.
  

• Flex Light or Clamp Light – Bright, focused light helps when working with darker fabrics or detailed embroidery.

Each of these tools helps take the stress out of crafting and allows you to focus on what truly matters: the meaning behind the project.

💞 Your Craft Is Your Legacy

Whether you're passing along a cherished quilt, a handmade baby blanket, or your favorite sewing machine with a note that says “this made a lot of love,” your creativity becomes part of your story.

This Make-A-Will Month, we invite you to not only consider your legal legacy—but your creative one too.

Take the time to craft with purpose, share your stories, and pass on a little piece of yourself through every stitch.

✨ Create something meaningful today. Your legacy is in your hands.

🧵Need inspiration or tools to start your legacy project?
Shop CutterPillar Tools for Quilting & Memory Crafts
Join the CutterPillar Creations Hub Community on Facebook