Welcome to today's issue.
Today, I would like to cover two questions I received from two Brenda's :)
How do I get the design pattern on to the quilt that I want to be quilted. I have tried transfers and its just not working. What am i doing wrong. I am wanting to quilt butterflies as my quilting pattern. Any tips?
Brenda
While tracing the patterns on the cloth, see that there is a minimum of 1/4 to 1/2 inch extra material around the pattern so that when you ultimately bring in the pattern together, you can adjust any faults by using some extra or tucking in unwanted material.
Main reason why a tracing cannot be transferred effectively is mainly due to the material you have used for tracing. If it's a soft cloth or only tracing paper that you have used, you are bound to have problems. For geometrical patterns use cardboard and for patterns with many indentations use a coarse cloth. This will enable you to pin the design on the material you intend using for quilting. You can even consider sticking the design on the cloth using a tape to keep it in place.
Cutting of patterns along the lines of the template is very important to retain the shape in the final output.
The fabric used and how you cut the fabric is also very vital. Check the grain of the fabric. A fabric has lengthwise and breadth wise or cross wise grains. It is always better to cut the patterns along the lengthwise grains as the fabric tends to shrink less when washed. Avoid the edges of the fabric as the edges are finished heavily as compared to the body of the fabric. They shrink different and give a puckered look ruining the quilt.
Butterflies can be done in many ways. Either use a single template to get the overall shape of a butterfly with its wings spread or if you are experienced in quilting you can incorporate geometric patterns and sew together different colored cloth to get a multicolored butterfly. What matters is how observant and imaginative one can be with respect to nature.
Use of sequins, beads, embroidery, fabric paint, satin threads etc can make your butterfly look gorgeous. A beautiful your butterfly depends on your creativity.
Can you help with the color wheel? The different ways to choose colors that work together, blend and opposites?
Brenda
(You can use a color wheel discussed in the issue 34 for reference.)
While selecting colors for a quilt comes very easy for some highly talented quilters, the art can be perfected by those not so very confident by studying the color wheel. Most of the times selecting color is very personal and mood based.
While using a dark quilt background, use a lighter quilt pattern for it to stand out bright and nice.
You can use monochromatic colors which is the use of a single color in various hues. This is very elegant when you want a soft look to your quilt such as one used for your baby. Do keep in mind the utility of the quilt.
When you want an ethnic or traditional effect to the quilt its better to use bright hues and complementary colors. In a color wheel, colors directly opposite to each other are known as complementary colors.
A more dramatic effect can be created by using split complementary colors. This is created by using colors on either side of the true or complementary colors.
Analogous colors are the use of colors next to each other in the wheel. However, different hues of these colors have to be used to give it a bright look otherwise they tend to look dull.
Another way of getting a pattern of desired colors is to draw them on a graph paper and color it using felt pens. Better still use small amounts of fabric paint to visualize your design on fabric before you actually get down to quilting. By using fabric paint, you can add white to any of the colors and get the hue you may prefer.
When different hues of a single color are used, a brighter shade can be subdued to get the necessary effect by use of a lighter shade beside or around it.
Not but the least, practice does make one perfect while playing with colors.
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That's all for today.
Till next time!
Konstantin,
www.QuiltedParadise.com
Feel free to use the suggestion box below for any questions or comments for me personally. If you want to ask a quilting question, then the best place to do so is the quilting board: http://www.quiltingboard.com/ -- there are plenty of great quilters over there who are always willing to help.
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