As someone who grew up with the idea that all seams must be finished and that fraying is the enemy of all sewing endeavors, I never really “got” the idea of fabric collage until recently. I would look at arty collages and all I could think was, “how the heck is that gonna make it through the washing machine alive?”
All that has slowly started to change. I saw MarDee’s “rough edge applique” quilts at the Eugene Public Library this winter and I also checked out this awesome book by Rosemary Eichorn:
I’ll admit it: I was a little nervous to get all artsy-fartsy. I’ve sort of always held back in that department because - hey - it’s a huge risk to put yourself out there like that. I think I’ve heard that sentiment echoed throughout the craft community. The solution for me was to just relax and allow (and expect!) myself to make mistakes and just experiment. Once I did that, the whole thing got really fun really fast!
So my first fabric collage experiment? Well, honestly I don’t 100% love it. But I do love that I finally *did* it after wanting to for so long…..
I learned *so* much doing this. Top 6 things I learned:
1. Stabilize. Seriously. You’re not too good to stabilize. You think you are, but you aren’t. (Of course, I didn’t stabilize cus I’m a punk like that…but I *should* have. It would have looked waaay better.)
2. Color contrast is everything. I think I didn’t rock the color enough in this one at all. The brown and black and green all sort of blend together. More contrast=more pop=better composition.
3. Stick with one color bobbin thread and adjust the tension so that it rides to the bottom and doesn’t show on the “right” side. Trying to change bobbin thread and top thread every time you switch colors will make you crazy. (Unless you’re into that sort of thing, I guess…)
4. You can “blend” the fabrics together with thread!!! It is so cool. I started off with the tree trunk all in that dark black/gold brocade and only layered on the brown cordoroy afterwards. In an effort to make it stand out less and “blend” in with the brocade more, I went over the cord and the brocade with a big, dark brown zig-zag stitch. This was crazy effective! I love what it did for the dimensionality of the trunk.
5. Say yes to yarn. I did and it totally brought the whole thing together. I used this awesome handspun purple yarn in this collage in two different ways. For one, I tried couching - another first!!!!! I heard you could do it with a simple zig-zag stitch on a sewing machine but it always seemed like it would be really hard to zig-zag right over the cord just right. It actually wasn’t. The yarn was totally into it, I swear. I also used the purple yarn to make a group of french knots (embroidery folks know what I’m talking about) in the foliage of the tree.
6. Consider a frame. I did. =)
Hope ya’ll enjoy this. I just came back from an afternoon at the fabric store so I have lots more tricks up my sleeve….stay tuned!
xoxox, erin
p.s. I’m in the market for new crafters to feature in my “Spotlight” series. If you’re interested or know someone who might be, please let me know!
