'Sewing Pictorial Quilt 1' - thoughts of an amateur

I decided to split the long story of making my pictorial quilt into 2 or 3 posts (not sure yet how many). I will try to share with you my thoughts about making such quilt (that was my first time, so please, keep in mind that I'm just an amateur), my mistakes, materials I used, etc. First thing, which I have to say, is that it takes time. At least it took me a looong time from an idea to finishing the quilt - few months to be precise. I had also moments, when I thought that I will not continue with the quilt, that I will just put it away and forget about the contest, 'cause so or so I don't have any chanses to win anything there...  having profi quilters as a concurence. But then, looking at what I have achieved to that moment, I thought 'Do it for yourself!'. It's not about the contest but to prove yourself that you can finish. Even if it sometimes seems really complicated.

Postanowilam podzielic post na kilka krotszych, bo nikomu by sie tego nie chcialo czytac. Chcialam sie podzielic z wami swoimi przemysleniami na temat szycia swojego pierwszego art quiltu (pamietajcie prosze, ze jestem amatorka i samoukiem) - o bledach, jakie popelnilam, materialach, ktorych uzylam, itp. Po pierwsze - to strasznie pracochlonne. Mi zajelo to kilka miesiecy. Mialam tez chwile zwatpienia w sens szycia takiego czegos, bo przeciez i tak nie mam szans w konkursie z profesjonalnymi quilterami, albo balam sie, ze jak zaczne kolejny etap i cos zepsuje, to cala moja dotychczasowa praca pojdzie na marne 

(poza tym, szczerze mowiac, malo jest blogow profesjonalnych artystow quilterow... na flickr tez jest malo art quiltow pokazywanych; jest boom na nowoczesne quilty w wirtualnym swiecie quilterow, na designerskie materialy, na podazanie za moda, a te artystyczne prace [nie to, ze moja jest artystyczna, mowie tak ogolnie] mozna zobaczyc glownie na wystawach. A jak sie uzywa batikow do takich prac to juz w ogole faux pas. Nikogo nie interesuje, ile pracy sie wlozylo w stworzenie quiltu...) 

Ale nie o tym mialo byc... 

Idea

So... how to start... every quilt starts with an idea of course. I was searching for a design which would fit to a contest's title - 'Quilt and embroidery'. It had to have some elements, which I could easily embroider. My first thoughts were about Geishas and their dresses or about a mermaid and some water plants and fish. After a long research I found a website of Gracjana Zielinska and decided that one of her works would fit perfectly to the contest's topic. The most important thing is to ask the author for the permission to use his work, which I immediately did and got (Gracjana is such a nice and friendly person). 

Pomysl

Od czegos trzeba zaczac. Ja szukalam obrazka/grafiki, ktora pasowalaby do tematu konkursu - 'Patchwork i haft'. Moje pierwsze pomysly to gejsze i ich wzorzyste sukienki i syrena z cylam podwodnym swiatem, roslinami i rybami. Znalazlam idealna grafike Gracjany Zielinskiej na jej stronie internetowej. Zapytalam oczywiscie o pozwolenie uzycia grafiki i przerobienia na quilt.

Fabrics

Then I had to choose the fabrics. For pictorial quilts modern fabric do not fit. I had to buy some batiks and hand dyed fabrics. I ordered shaded fabric for the background from THIS online shop. It was beautifully shaded - from yellow, through dark red to brown. Batiks I ordered from a US online store. 

Materialy

Do art quiltu nowoczesne materialy niestety nie pasuja. Musialam zamowic recznie farbowane materialy na tlo (kupilam slicznie cieniowany material ktory idealnie pasowal kolorami do oryginalnej grafiki) i troche batikow na stroj gejszy. 

Planning

I think I spent a good week to think how and with what to start. You cannot really allow yourself to make many mistakes on the way, cause sometimes they are impossible to undo and they can riun the work which you put in the quilt up to that moment. I had to decide which parts I will embroider, which will be appliqued, which painted, the order of layers of fabric on the quilt, etc.

Planowanie

Niestety, bez tego sie nie obejdzie przy skomplikowanym projekcie. Bynajmniej ja sie nie obeszlam.  Lepiej uniknac niepotrzebnych bledow, bo niektore bardzo trudno potem naprawic... Musialam zdecydowac, ktore elementy beda wyhaftowane, ktore beda aplikacja, ktore malowane, ktore warstwy materialu beda pod spodem, ktore na wierzchu...

Start

I started with backgroud. It's pieced from 4 different fabrics. Upper part - shaded hand-dyed fabric, 2 different green hand-dyed fabrics in the middle and solid black Kona cotton on the bottom. I made the backgroud bigger than planned size of the quilt to have room to trim it later (and you have to count that it can shrink slightly after you quilt it). After piecing I ironed the background on a thin stabiliser, that it doesn't change the shape while I will sew all the details on it later.

I printed the whole picture and planned the layout (I also reduced the amount of the details which were impossible for me to make; don't have photo from the very beginning of my work). I installed some styrofoam plates on the wall and was pinning all the elements on the background fabric (even the fabric which I had already ironed on bondaweb) without ironing on anything at the beginning (you allow yourself to rearange the elements, which I did very often):

Poczatek

Zaczelam od zszycia tla, po czym naprasowalam calosc na cienka fizeline, zeby sie material nie rozciagnal i nie marszczyl zbytnio podczas naszywania wszystkich elementow. Tlo zrobilam wieksze niz planowany rozmiar quiltu, zeby miec mozliwocs potem dociac material; jak wiadomo, podczas pikowania quilt tez sie troche kurczy. Wydrukowalam cala grafike w rozmiarze quiltu i rozplanowalam ulozenie poszczegolnych czesci. Na scianie przpielam plyty styropianowe i do nich szpilkami przypinalam wszytkie elementy quiltu (tlo tez bylo przypiete szpilkami). Na samym poczatku czesto zmienialam polozenie chmur, kwiatow czy samej gejszy, wiec wolalam jeszcze nie przyprasowywac aplikacji (z uzyciem bondaweb), zeby miec pole manewru.

Painting the face

That was the step which I was the most scared of. I traced the outlines of the face on a white fabric and shaded with wattered fabric paint. What I didn't do, I didn't iron directly after painting to dry out the fabric and set the paint, so it moved where it shouldn't in some places (I planned to cut the face on the outlies so or so, so it was still OK). After painting the subtle shades, the rest I've drawn with fabric crayons (also set be ironing).

Malowanie twarzy

Naszkicowalam kontury twarzy, po czym rozcienczonymi farbami do materialu namalowalam delikatne cienie. Zrobilam zasadniczy blad. Po namalowaniu kazdego cienia powinnam od razu przeprasowac to miejsce zelazkiem, zeby wysuszyc rozcienczona farbe. Niestety tego nie zrobilam i sie w kilku miejscach przemiescila (jak widac na zdjeciu, jednak do quiltu i tak planowalam wyciac twarz po konturach, wiec akurat mi to nie przeszkodzilo; gorzej, gdyby sie przemiescila w druga strone). Reszte narysowalam pastelami olejowymi do materialu (utrwalanymi zelazkiem).

 

Tips for starting (for beginners ;)

- better to think twice, than to make a mistake, make a detailed plan of your work in your head,

- change your initial idea if something doesn't want to work,

- lightbox for tracing the image onto bondaweb is very useful (I used a huge transparent plastic box, held bottom up with a desk lamp placed under and shining up. Little bit more messy and difficult to use, but way cheaper and you can have it in any size you want),

- search through websites and blogs of profi quilters. Many of them share tips and show progress of their works. That helps a lot!

Kilka dobrych rad dla poczatkujacych

- lepiej sie zastanowic dwa razy niz zrobic blad, ktory potem trudno naprawic,

- jesli cos nie chce wyjsc, tak jak sie to zaplanowalo, lepiej po prostu zmienic swoj pierwotny plan,

- lightbox (podswietlone pudlo :D ?) jest bardzo uzytecznym narzedziem w przerysowywaniu elementow na bondaweb czy material. Wbudowane zrodlo swiatla od spodu ulatwia widzenie konturow przez warstwe papieru/materialu. Ja oryginalnego nie mam - uzylam duzego plastikowego pudelka z podstawiona lampka pod spod,

- maly research po blogach i stronach profesjonalnych quilterow jest bardzo pomocny. Czesto pokazuja oni, jak tworza swoje prace i dziela sie wskazowkami,

That's it for now. More will come later. I think I did write to much than I was suppose to. If you have any questions - just ask :)

To tyle na dzis. W nastepnym poscie bedzie wiecej.