Cuts and Pleats

 Above are the two pieces I chose to use for the cut and pleat portion of this project.  Instead of using the two that were most alike, I used the two that I liked the most.

I ironed fusible to each piece, then stacked them with one on top of the other, fusible sides on each facing down.  I used WonderUnder instead of MistyFuse because I ran out and the only store that happened to be open stocked WonderUnder.  It's not my favorite fusible -- it's heavy (I used the lightest weight) and I have the darndest time removing the backing paper.

I cut the strips a little more than half an inch wide -- about 5/8 inch.  Then I carefully put them onto a piece of plain cotton, two at a time.  I was very careful to keep them in order.

The top piece is the finished fused strips.  I really like it just like this.  I wonder if I would lose the pattern if I tried stitching together strips cut from two similar pieces.  Would too much get lost in the seam allowances?

And the finished pleated piece.  I'm not sure where I'm going to go with it from here.  I was thinking of making a bag, but it will be way too big a bag for me -- more like a tote.

I'm also wondering if stitching down the pleats going one direction on the top and another on the bottom would look good.  Or maybe one direction on the top and bottom then another in the middle?

Also, next time, instead of using the two pieces I like the most, I would use the one I like most and the one I like least and do the pleats on the one I like least because so much of the pattern is lost in the pleat.

I'm linking up with Nina Marie at Off the Wall Friday.

Dip-Dyeing for 3D Effects

I was waiting for the weather to get better so I could do this outside, but that didn't happen.  It's still wintry for at least three or four days each week.  And it's cold the other days.  Bleah.  But dyeing always makes me happy, so I commandeered the kitchen for this latest experiment.

The ...Fire Blog technique this month involves making a three-dimensional piece from hand-dyed fabrics.  For Nienke's cool tutorial, click here, here, here,  here, and here.   Nienke's personal blog is here.  

I can't find my marbles, so I used some glass bits that I keep for flower arranging.  I used soda-soaked fabrics and rubber bands to make the first bundle in each piece.  

I mixed up four colors -- lemon yellow, golden yellow, red, and deep purple.  First I dipped the bundles in the lemon yellow; then, after letting them drain for a bit, I dipped them in the golden yellow.  

Nienke suggested wrapping each bundle in plastic after dipping in dye to keep the colors from blending too much and I liked the pieces better that way, so I wrapped mine.

After the initial dipping, the fabric is turned down over the dipped bundle and secured with another rubber band.

I dipped in red after the yellows and wrapped each dip in plastic.  Then I dropped all the bundles in the purple dye.  I let them batch over night, then washed them out as usual for hand-dyes.

I think I should splurge and use two gloves next time.


Next up: cutting and pleating.  

Celebrate the Dragon

"Celebrate the Chinese New Year"

27" by 27"

Turned-edge appliqué on a machine-pieced background, hand-dyes, commercial fabrics, cotton and rayon threads