Department of Family Services – Domestic and Sexual Violence Services

CONTACT INFORMATION: Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
703-324-5730 TTY 711
12011 Government Center Parkway, Pennino Building, Floor 7, Suite 740
Fairfax, VA 22035
Keesha Coke
Director

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month – Community Quilt Project

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Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Crafting Healthy Relationships

Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2025 Community Quilt Project

Did you know quilting and art have long been integral to the movement to end sexual and domestic violence? Art and activism are linked, and creating art can be therapeutic for those who have experienced domestic violence.

For Domestic Violence Awareness Month in 2025, Fairfax County Domestic and Sexual Violence Services is collecting quilt blocks created by the community with the theme of “Crafting Healthy Relationships.” The finished quilt will be displayed in Fairfax County Public Libraries in 2026.

Host Your Own 2025 DVAM Quilt Event
  1. Get together with your organization, club, or just a few friends and talk about what a healthy relationship means to you.
  2. Using the prompt and instructions below, create your quilt blocks.
  3. Take photos and tag them with #CraftingHealthyRelationships #DVAM2025.
  4. Send in your blocks to the address below by Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.

Domestic and Sexual Violence Services
Pennino Building
12011 Government Center Parkway, Suite 740
Fairfax, VA 22035

Materials:

  • 10-inch x 10-inch square of cotton fabric
  • Embroidery floss or colored thread 
  • Scissors 
  • Sewing needle
  • Collage materials (optional)
    • Colored fabric 
    • Sequins or beads 
    • Feathers 

fabric, ruler, scissorsThe base of your quilt block should be a 10-inch x 10-inch square of cotton fabric, and the art should be kept within the 8-inch x 8-inch space in the center. Instructions and photos of how to measure and create your quilt block are below!

  1. Use the scissors to cut out a 10-inch x 10-inch square of fabric.
  2. Place the ruler on one side of the fabric and use a pen or pencil to make small marks at the 2-inch and 8-inch points on the ruler. Rotate the fabric block and repeat on each of the four sides.
  3. Using these markings as a guide, trace an 8-inch x 8-inch square in the center of your fabric block with a 1-inch border on all sides.
  4. Gather your materials.
  5. Cut out and place your colorful fabric and other embellishments in the 8-inch x 8-inch center square to create your design.
  6. Using a needle and thread, sew the colorful fabric pieces and embellishments into place.

  • Free classes are available with your Fairfax County Public Library card on UniversalClass.com.
  • You can find even more resources by searching “embroidery,” “stitching” or “hand sewing” on the search engine or social media of your choice.

Would you like to join an existing event? Check out our calendar below!

According to the American Art Therapy Association, “art therapy is a mental health profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active artmaking, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.” 

Words are not the only way we understand the world, and art therapy allows us to work with our brains to process our thoughts, feelings, and the world around us! Art has been used to connect and communicate throughout the history of humanity and can be a form of self-care or a space to connect with others.

In art therapy, art making is about the process, not the product. As long as safety of self and others is being honored, there is no right or wrong way to create art. Use lines, shapes, colors, image, words, etc. to express yourself.

Questions?

Contact Abby Picard, Prevention and Education Coordinator, Domestic and Sexual Violence Services


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