Friday Finishes - Rooster Abstract Background Finished. . .

Well, I finally got back to my Rooster.  Here is the fabric palette for my abstract background, which is basically a slash and sew style.

I began by cutting two strips from my accent strip fabric.

With the center background fabric, I cut an asymmetrical six-sided shape.  Because there aren't exact measurements, I used my Rooster to determine the dimensions that were pleasing to me.

An accent strip was cut to fit one edge and sewn on.  Then repeated for the opposite edge.

 I cut an oversized triangle to sew to the accent strip on one side.

The triangle is trimmed to be squared with the center background edge.  The edge squared with is the right side of the quilt.

The other side is trimmed up to be even.

An accent strip is now sewn across both background segments.

Rather than cut a chunk of fabric, I simply matched the whole fabric piece to the accent strip and sewed it.

Once sewn, the new segment is squared.  Now I move to the other end to add segments from another fabric.

The accent strip is added and then the first segment.  Trimming occurs, another accent strip is added and then the final background segment. 

And here it is complete with the Rooster placed but not yet sewn.

This is the original traditional background I did with the Rooster also placed on it for review.  I'm happy with both backgrounds and now ready to sew them down.

Happy Friday,

Friday Finishes - Quilt to Share. . .

Friday is here and I am unable to think of any finish to share this week (my creative brain is tired).  So I decided instead to share a quilt.  

Many of you may remember several weeks back that I began making a Rooster quilt.  That design is being made into a quilt pattern that I will begin teaching this year.  I'm getting ready to begin posting on it again and brought out the photo of the original quilt so I could duplicate the background style.  I really like this background style as it is a bit unexpected and am excited to create a new one for my current rooster.

May you all have an enjoyable summer weekend with family and friends, and maybe get a little time in for quilting too. :)

Happy Friday,

Rooster Applique Background I. . .

With my Rooster applique pieces ready to sew, I need to make the background.  I am going to make two different backgrounds (I have two Roosters ready to go).  This first background is traditionally pieced with a background and two borders.

For this background version I needed these two additional applique pieces for grass.  They were traced onto Shir-tailor interfacing, pressed onto the fabric, and cut out.

I then cut my background.

My inner border is cut at 3/4" to finish at 1/4".  This 1/4" inner border is a signature look to my applique designs.  The side borders are cut to size and sewn on.

This grass piece is placed on the background and pinned.  It will be sewn into the bottom border.  I then sewed the bottom border on, making sure to keep the grass piece out of the way.  The top border is also sewn on.  All border seams are pressed toward the borders.

The outer borders at cut 3" wide, cut to size of the sides, and sewn on.

The top and bottom outer borders are then cut to size and sewn on.

The background is now ready to sew the Rooster on.

I decided I didn't like the original fabric choice for my grass.  So here is my replacement.  Changing my mind is something I often do when designing.  I often can't really see what I want until it's concrete and in fabric.  Next time I will make my alternate background.  Any guess as to what that might look like?

Until next time,

Why Fusible Interfacing Over Fusible Web. . .

When posting a few weeks ago about my satin stitch finish applique, I realized I had not gone through my entire applique process for that edge finish.  Nor have I discussed my preference of using fusible interfacing instead of fusible web for this technique.  Therefore, here are the steps for my new Rooster applique, step by step.

 I begin by tracing my pattern pieces onto Pellon's Shir-Tailor 950F fusible interfacing with a fine point Sharpie, including the dashed lines.  The dashed lines indicate where that piece lies under another.  Why fusible interfacing instead of fusible web you might ask.  My response would be a list that runs like this:  1) keeps the applique pliable rather than the stiffness of fusible web, especially when building layer on top of layer; 2) is less expensive than fusible web; 3) easier to play with pattern piece placement (especially important when designing); 4) doesn't dull needle when satin stitching like fusible web; 5) great stitching stabilizer (keeps fabric from puckering); and, 6) stitching is smoother - layers of fusible web can cause skipped stitches - not pretty when satin stitching.

When tracing is done, I rough cut around the fusible interfacing pattern pieces, leaving approximately 1/8" to 1/4" of interfacing from drawn line.  Without using steam, press the interfacing onto the wrong side of the appropriate fabric for approximately 5 seconds.

When cool, cut out pattern pieces directly on drawn line.  You may have noticed there are no tail or wing feathers.  I will go over how to prepare these "dimensional" pieces next time.

Until next time,