But just how small is too small when it comes to useful scraps?
Well, I now have an excuse to keep tiny pieces of cotton . . . a paper pieced quilt top!
Most of these fabrics were used to make dresses over the years, then my rag rug, and now, a hexie quilt.
This is going to be very time consuming, but so far, I am really enjoying the process.
It's the perfect excuse for tiny hand stitches - my favorite!
I have been using Gutermann quilting thread. It's coated specifically for hand sewing to help keep tangles and knots at bay, and it is considerably stronger than a standard machine thread.
There is a lot of paper cutting, wrapping fabric scraps around tiny paper pieces, and miles and miles of hand sewing left, but I am looking forward to it!!
This is looking very interesting, I have a HUGE collection of men's neckties and was wondering if this is a project that I would be able to use them for; what do you think?
ReplyDeleteI am no expert, but I think silk would work with paper piecing. Not sure about the laundering process for a silk quilt, but I think it would be beautiful. And I know crazy quilts often use silk scraps . . .
DeleteThanks for your feedback, I have nothing to lose since all these ties are just collecting dust, I think I will give it a try with a couple of them and see where is goes from there.
DeleteAs always, your stitching skills are impressive (actually I am jealous as my hand stitching skills are just barely basic) and you have an amazing ability to harmoniously mix colors & patterns. Maybe I'm overlooking the obvious, but I have questions so I hope you will give us some additional info: what do you plan to do with this paper pieced quilt top? how big will it be? if the paper remains in the piece, how do you clean the quilt?
ReplyDeleteThe idea is to quilt this at some point in the future (quilt top, plus batting, plus backing). And I am hoping to have enough of my colors for a full/queen sized quilt.
DeleteThe paper pieces pop right out. I am leaving them in for now, but they will come out before I doing any of the actual quilting!