Bleiweiss - Colorful Fabric Collage: Sketch, Fuse, Quilt!

For Iris, because Mistyfuse made it possible!

Start with an idea and a pencil

Color your fabrics for ultimate creativity

Learn simple techniques for fusible applique

Keep it simple and practice, practice, practice

Add color and dimension

Bind your quilt and hang it up

Projects to inspire you to fuse

The first quilt I ever made was a traditionally pieced nine-patch block quilt with a flying geese border. It was a small quilt, but it took me a long time to finish it. I was so obsessed with getting all of those 14-inch (6 mm) seams and corners to line up exactly right. By the time I was finished, I swore Id never make another quilt againI just didnt enjoy the process. And I really hated having to follow directions.

I put away all of the fabric and the quilting tools. I focused on creating books and journals and three-dimensional objects such as boxes and vessels. But it wasnt long until I found myself wanting to explore working on flat surfaces and creating work that I could hang on my walls.

I started dabbling in creating fused fabric collage art quilts. Fusing gave me the freedom to create quilts without having to worry about lining up corners or intersections and whether or not my seams were straight. With fusing, no shape is off limits! Circles, arcs, wavy edges, or pieces with sharp corners are difficult to piece, but they are a snap to fuse. Fusing gives me the power to create a quilt that depicts any realistic or abstract imagery that I can dream up with no worries about how I will put it together.

I have two goals with Colorful Fabric Collage. The first is to help you discover how versatile fusing can be beyond just using it to adhere one piece of fabric to another. Ive created a wide range of quilted projects, from art quilts to hang on your walls to personal accessories that accent your life with creativity.

Each project uses fusing as a primary part of the creative process as well as the construction process. You can recreate the projects exactly how I have presented them, but I encourage you to personalize them to your own style. Use them as a springboard. Create them using the fabrics, colors, and imagery that you like to work with.

My second goal is to show you that fusing can help you make that transition to becoming an art quilter just as easily as I did. Once you add a layer of fusible web to the back of your fabrics, theres no image you cant recreate. If you can imagine it, you can turn it into an art quilt.

When you fuse a piece of fabric that is cut on an arc, you dont have to be concerned about puckers or gapsyou can break free from the restrictions of straight seams and corners that must align. Maybe you have photos from your garden, a trip abroad, or even of your pets that youd like to recreate in an art quilt. Using fusing as your construction method makes it possible!

This book also shares with you nine inspiring art quilts created by some of my favorite fiber artists who use fusing as an integral part of their creative process. As you read about how each of these artists incorporates fusible webbing in their art quilts, let your mind wander. Think about how you might want to explore the use of fused fabrics in your art quilts.

Remember, with fusing no shape is impossibleyour only limit is your own imagination. The more you explore and experiment, the more you will discover and learn. So grab some fusible web and some quilting fabrics and let your creative imagination run wild!

I wish you all the best in your creative endeavors!

Making the transition from traditional quilter to art quilter is easier than you think. If youve been making traditional quilts, then you probably have almost all of the tools and supplies you need in your studio already. The difference is in how you use them.

The steps to create an art quilt are essentially no different than those used to sew a traditional quilt, but the outcome is vastly different. Instead of assembling a top sewn from well-known blocks, you create a quilt from any image you dream up. Sketch your idea, choose your colors and fabrics, and then head into your sewing space to begin the construction process.

The two most important tools that I use in my art quilt-making process are my sketchbook and a pencil. Every single quilt comes to life on the pages of my sketchbook. Now, I know that some of you are shaking your head and thinking that using a sketchbook is not for you because you cant draw, or you think its easier and faster to just jump in and start cutting and fusing fabric. I urge youreally, Im begging you!to just give working on paper first a try.

Sketching gives you the opportunity to fully explore your ideas before you begin the quilt-making process. It will save you a lot of time, wasted fabric, and false starts, and youll enjoy actually making your quilt a lot more.

All of the ideas for my quilts start on paper as rough sketches done in either pencil or with a fine-point black marker. I like to work in an unlined sketchbook that lies flat when opened, but you might find it easier to work on individual pieces of paper. Your paper doesnt have to be anything fancya stack of printer paper will work just fine if thats what you have available.

Sometimes, before I start sketching or drawing, I make a list of words associated with the idea for my quilt. This helps me brainstorm the imagery I might want to include in the quilt. It is particularly helpful when Im creating a quilt with recognizable imagery, such as the . My list of words for City Skyline was buildings, windows, doors, clouds, antennas, billboard, sky, planes, and birds.

If Im creating a quilt that is made up of geometric shapes with no realistic or stylized imagery, I skip this step and just begin sketching.

SKETCHING TIP

Stuck for an idea? Take a look out the window and make a list of what you see: birds, mailboxes, trees, a sunset, a garden, cars whizzing by, a city street, the chicken coop, a bicycle, the doghouse, a butterfly, or a wintry landscape. All of these would make terrific subjects for an art quilt.