So what have I been up to in the past couple of months?
Well, I discovered that the "B" flag was wrong. It actually has a dagged edge, not a white triangle. So it had to be reconstructed:
As I had feared, when I finally returned to the fabric store this cloud print was all gone. I haven't yet tried the others. Maybe I can sneak a trip in this week.
Another friend is having a boy. Darnit! It's like they know about my stockpile of girl blankies! I had a week to make something. I decided that I would copy something my mother made for my nephew - a Very Hungry Caterpillar applique. Now applique is not my friend. I've done it once. It involved using iron-on fusing web and the zig-zag stitch. This is what my mother did:
Looks easy! And fast! Oh no, not in my hands. So I got some perfectly matched batiks. I got a copy of the book. I enlarged the cover to a good size. Then I made plastic templates for the exact shapes... for all 20 green segments, the red head, the eyes, the nose, each foot, and the antennae. So then I cut out the fabric, and - omg - how am I going to zig-zag around those feet? I think about this while I iron over each piece's seam allowance. Mylar templates, by the way, are really neat! As I iron, I come to the sickening realization that I must hand baste the seams allowances. This takes a few days. I finally face the fact that I must hand applique the pieces if I want the shapes to be as close to the picture as possible. Positioning the caterpillar parts on the ground, which has since changed from white fleece to 12 squares of white-on-white prints, involves alot of scotch tape, some iron-on fusing web, and the window. I am currently hand-appliqueing. Here is what it's looking like:
As far as the baby boy for whom this was intended, it's going to take too long. He gets the frog panel blankie that is the sole member of my boy blankie stockpile. It is super-cute (and, being a panel, was super-easy). I will show you a picture tomorrow.
8 comments:
Nice work on the caterpiller
copycat!!!
I think Ben Franklin still has some Eric Carle Fabric if you want us to look? we are going there saturday night for a scrapbooking event!!
No thanks, Kala!
I ended up finding some at a shop near my work. I had about 5 minutes of "OMGWTF!" and walking in circles, then I realized two things:
a) I don't need it (there was no special reason I did the Hungry Caterpillar as opposed to some other kid's book character),
b) My applique is cooler than the print (though harder).
Thus I declare that I win! Though I ended up coming home with some Halloween fabric somehow...
the Paula Nadelstern fabrics look like scrapbook paper!
OK, we'll look at BF for Paula Nadelstern then...
Another very neat way to create shapes with neat edges: line with organza by sewing right sides together, trim, cut a slit in the organza and turn. voila: neat finished edges and smooth curves. These can be zig zag applied (after pressing, off course) or hand applied, and even free motion embroidery highlights added.
Auntie,
I remembered and heeded this advice on a recent project. In fact, I don't think it would have been possible without this hint. I ended up using an old (and thus very thin) white sheet for the back, and it worked very well indeed! Watch for the results soon!
Post a Comment