Chapter 9 Reverse Appliqué - Traditional and Contemporary Methods

 

 

9a                                         9b

I went on a cruise through the Panama Canal several years ago and obtained some samples of traditional applique work from the Sans Blas Islands.  There are many layers of fabric and the turned under edges are neatly secured with tiny stitches. These ladies are very skilled needle women.

9a - is a traditional design. 

9b - is a modern design showing a ship going through the Panama Canal.

NB - all my following samples are hand stitched because I was still travelling in the motor home when I made them. My machine was in  Portugal.

 

   

9c                                           9d

9c – The cut paper design I used.  

9d - Traditional method with edges turned under. I used a hand dyed and printed cotton that did not fray easily for this sample but I still found this method very challenging.

 

 

9e – the cut paper paper design.    9f – the hand printed fabrics I used

 

9g - the back of the sample showing that I used just one motif from the above design.

 

9h                                         9i 

9h - Contempory method with cut edges showing. There are four fabric layers and this sample is cut inside the stitching. There is not enough colour contrast in the middle layer so it does not show up very well.  

9i - Contempory method with cut edges showing. There are four fabric layers and  this time the sample is cut outside the stitching.

 

9i – the cut paper design.            9j – the back of the sample showing that one unit of the design was used but with extra stitching added around the unit.

 

9k - I tried the contemporary method  again but this time with contrasting coloured fabrics. It is a more complex sample. There are four layers and it is cut inside the stitching 

 

9l – the cut paper design       9m – the back of the sample showing the stitching

 

9n - Contempory method with cut edges showing. It is a more complex sample. There are several  layers, some layers only cover part of the background and it is cut inside and outside the stitching. I feel this makes an interesting and surprising sample. 

Chapter 8 Complex Samples

 

These more complex samples show bonding, padding and bead embellishment. I have included the cut paper and/or painted paper designs that inspired each sample.

The cut paper design that was the inspiration for 8a below

 

8a - This more complex sample has three layers the turquoise cut design is bonded to the back ground  and then stitched. The ‘window pane’ top layer is frayed and the stitching that secures this layer  follows the underlying shapes.

 

 

The cut paper design that was the inspiration for 8b below  

8b - This sample has four layers. I rearranged the  shapes from the original cut paper design. The triangles from the central star shape were bonded to the corners of the background.  The star shape was then stitched so that the points overlapped these corners. Finally a square with the centre removed was stitched over the star.

8c - This sample uses the same range of  printed fabrics as 8a. It has two layers, I used the square cut from 8a and padded it from behind. A selection of hand stitches out lines and emphasizes the central square.

I am happy with the above two  samples, their muted fabric prints and arrangement of shapes, give an integrated  feel.

 

 

A  piece of wrapping paper that was the inspiration for 8e below

 

8e – I was not really happy with this sample when I showed it to you at Summer School. You suggested adding another layer of transparent fabric to tone down the gold. I have added a turquoise chiffon layer and then embellished the padded stars with stitching and beading. This is much better!

Chapter 7 - Translating the Layered Designs into Embroidery

 

All the fabrics in this chapter were dyed, stencilled and/or printed on old pillow cases. I used acrylic paints, acrylic medium and fabric dyes in my colour scheme. I have included my main design inspirations for each sample. I think you saw all  these samples at Summer School.

  

 7a –  There are three layers of fabric in this sample and it is hand stitched using chain stitch and whipped running stitch. I tried fraying the edge of the the star shape as you suggested but this was not very effective because the acrylic paint used to colour the fabric sticks the fibres together..

 

 

 

 7b – In this sample there is just one layer of fabric, the layered effect is achieved by using strips of fabric in a ‘log cabin’ patchwork technique. The stencilled stars in the centre are outlined in chain stitch. I love this sample, printing my own fabrics and using a subtle range of colours has given a very unified sample

    

 

7c – The stencilled stars were ‘practise’ pieces on scraps of fabric. I thought they deserved to be used in a sample. The design is a bit formal but I like the bead embellishment. These was inspired by the encrusted surface of the starfish in the photographs.

 

7d                                         7e

7d and 7e are negative and positive samples of the same star image. The star shape of 7e was cut from 7d. There are two layers of fabric. The stitching on both samples is chain stitch and twisted chain stitch. I like this pair of samples, the design and colours work well together.

 

 

 7e 

7e this sample was an interpretation of one of my cut paper shapes, there are three layers of fabric and the design is lightly padded. The stitching is chain stitch and blanket stitch.

7e – This sample just uses stitching to define the two overlaid star shapes. The stitches used are running stitch and french knots. I feel the colours in the sample are too near each other in tone so there is not enough contrast to make the sample effective.

 

 

 

Chapter 6 Use of Bonding in appliqué

 

6a, 6b and 6c are cut and fold paper designs translated into fabric using the bondaweb that comes in strips for securing hems. This was the only kind I could find in Portugal

6a                                           6b

6c

6e and 6d are decorative bonded samples made with bits of fabric, ribbons and  threads. I had to be a bit innotive here and use fusible vilene for the background. I painted the vilene with fabric dye and used it glue side up to secure the fragments.

6e                                           6f

Chapter 5 Fabric Selection and Decoration

 

The fabrics below are a selection of ones that I have dyed and printed myself as well as some bought and already owned fabrics.

 

A                                           B 

C                                           D 

E                                            F

A, B, C, D, E, – are a series of co-ordinating fabrics I printed and/or dyed in my chosen colours. I used old pillow cases.

F - is some cotton yarn I dyed by wrapping it around an old table mat and dying both sides in stripes of  pale and dark turquoise. I put a pieces of fabric underneath the wrapped yarn I so had a striped fabric as well!

 

G                                           H 

I                                           J

G, H, I, J – these are bought fabrics, mostly ones I owned already.

G – the first two are nylon organza with some transparency and the third is nylon net

H – the first two are cotton with printed  gold  patterns, the second two are ‘water marked’ shiny satin gold fabrics

I – these are all plain colour cotton ‘patchwork’ fabrics in different weights

J – the first is nylon chiffon and the second tie dyed cotton

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K                                           L

K, L, – trial prints done prior to this chapter