Primitive Stars jacket, part two—hand stitching

Detail: running stitch on jacket back.

Did you read Part One about my Primitive Stars ikat Jacket? It was about the machine stitching/quilting part of the jacket-creation process. This post is about the hand stitching—or slooooow stitching—process.

The running stitch

On the front, back and sleeve, this jacket is embellished with a mix of fabric scraps—ikat, yarn-dyed wovens and commercial cotton prints. I was following a color palette and was not concerned with the fabric type. These patches are raw edge and attached with a running stitch by hand. I guess you could identify this technique with any or all of the following terms: boro, kantha, appliqué, or quilting... depending on your point of view. 

For this hand stitching, I used Spaghetti and Fruitti [WonderFil Threads] 12 wt. cotton threads. They come in a broad range of beautiful solid and variegated colors. Thread colors were chosen to complement the color of the fabric patches and the color scheme of the jacket.

Stitching on yarn-dyed fabrics

Hand stitching is a dream with the yarn-dyed wovens! You've gotta try it. Really.

Detail: running stitches with 12 wt. cotton thread from WonderFil Threads,
 ikat, and Primitive Stars yarn-dyed wovens from Diamond Textiles.

The thread color for stitching on the cream-colored ikat is Fruitti FT17, a variegated color story of soft lavender, pale periwinkle and a subtle hint of magenta, called "Mountains." 

Jacket pocket with hand stitched decorative band.

The jacket pocket fabric is from a Riverwoods fabric collection by Janine Burke. Looks like a hand-dyed, doesn't it? It's actually a printed fabric, so it's a "hand-dyed look at an affordable price." Quilters and quilt shops—please ask me about availability of this fabric line.

This shows the hand stitches from the lining (inside). It might look like a lot of stitches, but the process is quiet, rhythmic and relaxing—and a nice break from machine quilting.

Hand stitching on jacket (lining side).

This jacket has two buttons and button loop closures. You can see the streaks of raspberry color in the variegated thread in this photo [YLI 40 wt. cotton, color 15V Vineyard].

Button loop closure.

The sleeve detail—machine and hand stitching. I like the juxtaposition!

Sleeve with ikat fabric patch.

My completed jacket. It's a little boro and a little blue.

Primitive Stars jacket with ikat and slow stitching.

Make a jacket, make a friend

And here I am at the International Quilt Market [wearing my jacket] with Maria Shell, quilt artist and newly-published author with her first book, Improv Patchwork: Dynamic Quilts made with Line and Shape. We met in the Houston airport waiting for the Super Shuttle. We both knew immediately where the other was going (wink, wink). You can usually tell someone's a quilter by the clothes they're wearing. (My ikat jacket was a dead give-away.) We struck up a conversation in the shuttle van and in no time found ourselves at the hotel.

Me with Maria Shell and my autographed copy of
her new book, "Improv Patchwork."

Make yourself an artwear jacket. Patchwork... appliqué... kantha stitching... boro with beautiful threads... whatever techniques and materials satisfy your current afflatus (creative impulse). It will start a conversation and you might make a new friend.

Moon Garden, a joyful quilt

I'm calling this one Moon Garden.

Moon Garden, detail

This quilt was an absolute joy to make! It offered me so many opportunities to try different techniques, revisit machine appliqué, cross pollinate new fabric collections, and experiment with exuberant, variegated threads and free-motion quilting designs. You may recognize it from this post.

A variety of background fabrics set off the
graphic black/white appliqués.

The quilt is based on the pattern, Dresden Star, by Edyta Sitar. I opted to use the companion acrylic templates—which, by the way, are the perfect size and shape for Blank Quilting's pre-cut Fabrications strip sets! 

I used the black/white strip collection for the star points/petals and couldn't stop sewing the 3-D Dresden rings... two, three... five, eight! Concerned about the sharp points? With this technique, it's a no-brainer. Even beginners would be successful.

Several background fabrics set off the graphic black/white Dresden stars.

The backgrounds for the appliqué blocks are coordinates from the Dahlia collection by Frances Newcombe [Belly Buttons Boutique] for  Blank Quilting and one of the new colors (pear) from Fusion Illusion.

Free-motion quilting on the setting triangles (in Desiree).

The sashing and setting triangles are from Desiree, a large floral tone-on-tone fabric line. The butterfly border is a focal print—also from Dahlia—while the colorful appliquéd circles, as well as the binding, are Blank's popular Splash blenders.

Auditioning the threads and the quilting designs:
After the top was pin basted, I auditioned threads—40 wt. and 50 wt. variegated cottons—for quilting the Dresden blocks.

Auditioning the threads.

A page from the sketchbook: working out potential motifs on paper is always a good place to start.

Sketchbook page of potential quilting motifs.

The free-motion quilting employed outlining, various fills, tendrils and a stylized zig-zag in the black sashing.

Variegated 40 wt. and 50wt. threads (left) and detail of the block quilting (right).

Sweeping and curling free-form feathers were quilted and randomly interspersed with patches of swirls and bubbles throughout the setting triangles and the borders. An antique gold, lighter weight 2-ply 50 wt. cotton thread (Master Piece (Botticelli) by Superior) was used for this quilting. 

Free-form feathers, swirls and bubbles quilted in
the setting triangles and the border.

Here is a full view of Moon Garden.

Full view: Moon Garden, 57.5" x 75"

Stats for Moon Garden:
Finished quilted size: 57.5" x 75". 22.5 hours for free-motion quilting, 10.5 bobbins. Threads (all cotton): WonderFil Tutti (50 wt.), Superior King Tut (40 wt.) and MasterPiece (50 wt.), YLI (40 wt.) and Superior Bottom Line (60 wt. polyester) for the bobbin. Hobbs Tuscany 100% cotton batting.

On the back:
My latest favorite 108"wide backing is the Sparkle line. (Yes, I am a fickle free-motion quilter when it comes to the wide backings—I like a lot of them.) This warm brown (java) color was a perfect complement to the ocher yellows and spicy red-oranges on the front. The subtle texture of the print—like cafe-au-lait infused with pure vanilla bean—provides interest, but still plays second violin to the quilting.

Sparkle java 108" wide backing. Back view with label.

Here are a few more pics of the quilting from the back (taken at various times of the day and night under different lighting conditions).

Free-motion quilting (back view).

Free-motion feathers, swirls and bubbles (back view).

Free-motion quilting (back view).

Finishing touches:
To finish, this quilt deserved a binding of equal calibre—a flat piped binding—using Splash (coral) with a solid black accent. Along with the label, I think it is a perfect ending [binding] to a joyful quilt. Wouldn't you agree?

The flat piped binding on Moon Garden.

Always put a label on your quilts.