Fabrics will tend to go together well if you can see one of the colours in one fabric echoed in the other.
When you are planning how the fabrics will fit together for the quilt, consider the balance of colours over the whole quilt, and similarly the balance of light and dark. See how the different colours ‘play’ against each other and consider whether a particular area in a quilt needs contrast or harmony. Sometimes you can see these aspects more clearly with your eyes half shut.
Fabric Types
Although people use all sorts of fabrics, I suggest you stick to those that have been designed for quilting because they will be a good weight, easy to sew through and easy to quilt. Use 100% cottons and as high a quality as you can afford. When appliquéing small shapes you will need to choose fabrics that don’t fray too much and aren’t too thick. If a fabric you like does fray and you don’t want to use a different one, then allow extra around the shapes.
To Wash or Not?
None of the fabrics used in this book were pre-washed. I like the crispness of new fabric and the effect of washing a finished quilt, when the whole shrinks a little to give a puffed look. However, although it has never happened to me, fabrics can bleed and ruin a project. For this reason I’m careful with strong reds. If in doubt test fabrics first, pre-wash them or dry clean the finished project. This is another reason to buying a well-known make of fabric. Note that in some cases the measurement for a piece assumes the full width of a bolt or fat quarter. In these cases, of course, pre-washing might cause problems with shrinkage.
For felt projects some people recommend pre-washing to avoid shrinking later. It also changes the texture in a way you may like. If you do this, then allow an extra 20–30% for the quantity measurements, as felt shrinks in the wash by an unpredictable amount. Personally, I would not risk washing the finished project, but only dry clean it. I tend to be particularly cautious about felt colours and avoid deep reds and browns, as these are more likely to bleed.
Blending fabrics together so that they harmonize beautifully, especially the tones found in nature, helps create a coherent and most attractive look to a project.
Drying in the Breeze
This quilt wall hanging depicts a moment in time in a lovely rural setting – a country house, plump geese in the field and two delightful little quilts drying in the breeze on a washing line in the orchard. Divided into appliqué panels in beautifully blended colours, the quilt is straightforward to create and a joy to stitch.
The project has a little bit of everything and is a wonderful way of trying new techniques, including invisible machine appliqué, machine piecing, foundation piecing, free-motion quilting and hand embroidery. The design is versatile too – you could stitch the whole design or just focus on one of the panels for a smaller wall hanging. The quilt can also be made using hand appliqué techniques, as the alternative quilt shown in this chapter has been.
APPLIQUE FOCUS…
Geese are created with simplified shapes, using invisible machine appliqué after making the shapes with freezer paper. Overlapping wings creates extra texture.
Appliqué with bias-cut fabric strips makes sewing curved shapes easier and was used to create flower stems. The fencing uses straight grain strips.
The leaves are created with template plastic and invisible machine-stitched appliqué in easy shapes, with a little backstitch hand embroidery for the twig detail.
This gorgeous wall quilt would be a lovely centrepiece in any home. It is full of interesting details and with its sweet little quilts hanging on the washing line is sure to be much admired.
Drying in the Breeze Quilt
YOU WILL NEED
• Background fabric for main panels, end panels and triangle strips 42in × 23½in (106.7cm × 59.7cm)
• Fabric for border triangles 42in × 12in (106.7cm × 30.5cm)
• Inner border 30in × 5in (76.2cm × 12.7cm)
• Border blocks, nine different fabrics each 21in × 5½in (53.3cm × 14cm)
• Panel 1 hill fabric 20¾in × 4½in (52.7cm × 11.4cm)
• Flower stems 9in × 9in (22.9cm × 22.9cm)
• Large leaves on stems 21in × 9¾in (53.3cm × 24.8cm)
• Scraps of numerous different fabrics for small appliqués
• Scraps of different fabrics for the mini quilts
• Backing and binding 42in × 43in (106.7cm × 109.2cm)
• Wadding (batting) 42in × 33in (106.7cm × 83.8cm)
• Invisible thread for the appliqué
• Embroidery thread for twigs, windows, mini quilt and bird features in colours to suit your fabrics
• Four miniature clothes pegs for mini quilts
• Cord for washing line 23in (58.4cm)
• Basic kit
Finished size: 38in × 29in (96.5cm × 73.7cm)
Techniques used: freezer paper appliqué, invisible machine appliqué, appliquéd strips, foundation piecing, hand embroidery, free-motion quilting, binding Use ¼in (6mm) seams for the main quilt
Templates: Drying in the Breeze
Making panel 1
1 Cut out the background fabric 20¾in × 10in (52.7cm × 25.4cm). This includes a seam allowance. If you worry about fraying, or that the pieced outer border may not come out exactly the right size, you can make the rectangle a little bigger and trim later. The finished size for Panel 1 will be 20¼in × 9½in (51.4cm × 24.1cm).
Sewing the appliqués
2 Enlarge
