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.