what if

what if #66: reshaping a pillow

......i need a heart shape, what if i cut an old pillow? mark, cut, remove excess stuffing, resew. ready to cover. and what if i cover it by wrapping? just a thought...

what if #64: seam wrapping

mending methods have my interest at the moment. i am still working with the vintage piece i started in the previous post. i should mention i quickly dipped it in in brown dye to disguise some staining. some of  hand stitch seams have pulled apart so i thought what if (?) i wrap the seam in a bar of satin stitch. in this case i am going all the way through and catching the backing fabric. i used one layer of thin cotton batting and gauze so i could really get a feel for the tension created. the stitch forms a gully type line on the back and fits in with regular quilting. the method is decorative and very reinforcing. not to mention the texture. and again, quilting and embroidery become one step.    

what if #63: free mending

i have a lot of old pieced scraps, worn pieces and leftovers from quilts. etc. i used my new found machine free  piecing knowledge and patched some worn scraps back together, doing the best i could to retain the look of the original pattern. some odd little patches resulted, but it added character to the piecing. terrible photo but you get the idea. mended and refashioned patchwork.

what if #53: part 5

ok. this one sat around for a while all coiled up waiting to become the holder for something, and i couldn't get going with it. it needs to hold more was the felling i got and i had plans to extend it a bit. it sat. and then i though what if i extend it using an old shirt placket? an indigo shirt. a beautiful ready made edge with holes. button holes. buttonhole are always good for something. so that's what i did. and for some of the raveling edges i thought what if i just mend them with satin stitch,,, solid indigo.... and tack them down with that magic blue? nice. (left, by the needle) . when it gets a bit bigger i will coil it up again and see what it will hold. i need a bottom edge.

what if #31: contrast stitching continued

playing more with this technique. tried framing one patch, partial framing in one direction, multiple patches with variegated thread, and my favorite so far, the black triangles with planned discontinuous color on the seam. 

this process interests me because it uses a focus on structure as a design element.

because of the contrast it also records a process, the tension, the stitch irregularity, the stretch in the fabric.

it is also a great way to create a design if you only have small scraps of  fabric in one color.

i also like how it relates visually to mending.

linen patchwork, cotton floss,
3" x 3" blocks.

what if #30: complete

continued from...the combination applique has been completed with rolled arms and an added level of variation.

it was the hair. how to cut and applique those tiny strands of wild hair.
normally suppose i would have left the hair as a direct stitched decoration after applying the applique, but it was already there. i cut the figure out and basted the edges under leaving some backing around the hair and then wondered what if i just stitch around it and over the ragged edge with the ground color and blend it in?

2 strands variegated embroidery floss, split back stitch.

the result was some magnificent mane of hair and sky.

her story is over at spirit cloth now 

#7: detailed reverse applique with linen

after trying a fairly intricate reverse appliqué using fine linen on linen on linen, i ran into an expected fraying problem. the small edges were hard to turn and i got frayed cracks at the inside curves. those linen threads slide right out. so i tried binding the edges with split backstitch and overcasting and it was convincingly sturdy.    but i started thinking what if i make this mending process a design element.???...(including fixing up a cutting mistake i made in the reverse applique process)

..love the effect of the colored binding stitch and found i could use varying amounts of strands(DMC floss) to control the weight of the color outlines.  and the stitch became looser as i became more comfortable.  an embroidered leaf covers the mis-cut.

some planned pre-frayed edges.

edged by backing, quiting still in process.

machine wash test planned.