Friday 10 October 2008

Japanese Folded Patchwork

As if I don't have enough sewing to do, I thought I'd try my hand at something different and enrol on a patchwork and quilting workshop. It's great fun, as well as educational. Our tutor, Jenny, is lovely, but I keep getting told off for talking in class!!!
Anyway, we are learning about Japanese Folded Patchwork. The end result is a complete unit of fabric and wadding, decorative on both sides. The individual units can then be stitched together to make the finished article, no extra quilting or wadding to be done. We start off by cutting circles of fabric, running a gathering stitch around them and pulling it tight around a circle of card (above).

The fabric is pressed and the card removed. This circle shows two colours of fabric pieced together and pressed.
Here is my pile of pressed circles (above) and below is the start of the end product. You will have to wait to see the rest!
It's a bit of a departure for me - all hand sewing! I thought I'd miss my machine, but it's quite therapeutic to sit with the family and watch TV in the evening and still be able to do some sewing. Trouble is, I'm like a dog with a bone - this is upposed to be a long term project, to be done in spare moments. Instead, everything will now be neglected until I finish it!