Summer ’Scape
By Alicia Merrett
This small quilt was inspired by a visit to St Ives in Cornwall. It is constructed with a very easy fused collage method, and machine quilted.
The finished size of the piece is 40cm wide by 40cm high (16” by 16”). The measurements given here are for that size, but a similar ‘scape’ can be made in any size and proportions and using any colours you like.
You will need:
- A piece of wadding (preferably cotton), 46cm by 46cm (18” x 18”) – which is about 5 to 6cm (2”) bigger all round than your desired final measurement. We will assemble the piece on the wadding, for convenience.
- Three strips of fabric a little shorter than the width of the wadding:
- One blue fabric for the sky, 42cm by 20cm (16” x 8”)
- One different blue fabric for the sea, 42cm by 23cm (16” x 9”)
- One yellow or sandy colour fabric for the beach, about 42 by 12cm (16” x 4 ½ ”)
- A selection of small pieces of cotton fabrics in a variety of warm colours: red, orange, golden yellow, violet, lilac, pink, brown, etc, for the houses
- A selection of small pieces of cotton fabrics in colours contrasting with those of the houses, for the roofs
- Scraps of contrasting colour fabrics for the doors and windows
- Scraps of green for some small bushes
- Small pieces of fabric for the boat – including some white for the sails.
- Fusible web – between ¼ and ½ metre from a 18” wide roll (between 10” and 20”) – or a couple of A4 sheets. (I like to use Steam-a-Seam because it’s repositionable, but any kind will do – Bondaweb, Vliesofix, Heat’n’Bond, etc.)
- A piece of fabric for the backing, approximately 50cm by 50cm (20” x 20”)
- Threads in colours to complement your fabrics, for quilting.
- A couple of sheets of A4 paper to make templates.
Tools:
- Sewing machine for quilting (although it can also be hand quilted)
- Rotary cutter, cutting mat and quilters’ ruler
- Scissors: dressmakers and small embroidery ones
- Paper Scissors
- Safety pins
- Pencil and eraser
- Usual sewing requirements
Step 1
Background
Press the wadding and all fabrics before using. Lay down the piece of wadding on your table. Place the sky and sea strips of fabric on the wadding, butting the central edges.
Step 2
Cut a slightly curving or ondulating line on the lower long side of the yellow fabric, and place it on top of the two other strips, hiding the joint.
Step 3
Houses
Draw and cut a number of paper rectangles in different shapes and sizes for your houses, with sides in sizes ranging from 5cm (2”) to 12 cm (5”). Place the rectangular house templates on the background, over the yellow strip, covering the line between the sand and the sky, leaving some space for the beach to show. (You can also allow for some of the roofs to cover the line instead).
Step 4
Using your paper templates, trace your rectangles on the paper side of your fusible web. Cut them out.
Step 5
Choose fabric colours for the buildings and cut fabric rectangles around 2.5cm (1”) bigger all round than the templates. Iron the fusible rectangles to the back of the fabrics.
Step 6
Trim off the fabric edges. When cool, peel the paper off the fusible, and place the rectangles on the background, fabric side up, arranging them as you like. (You can take photographs of different arrangements as you go along).
DO NOT IRON THE RECTANGLES ONTO THE BACKGROUND YET!
Step 7
Roofs
Repeat the process for the roofs: Draw some suitable paper shapes, making sure their sizes match the house rectangles and choose fabric colours that go well with the building colours. Cut the roof shapes from the fusible web. Iron the fusible shapes to the back of the roof fabrics.
TIP: REVERSE the template if the roof is not a symmetrical shape.
Step 8
Cut out the shapes, peel the paper off, and position the roofs on the house rectangles, being careful to place front pieces on top of back pieces, as appropriate.
TIP: You may want to cut the lower edges of some of the roofs using a fancy blade, if you have one.
Step 9
Once you are satisfied with the arrangement, iron everything down onto the background, using some greaseproof paper on top first, and moving the iron carefully up and down rather than side to side – you don’t want the pieces to move. Once everything is attached, press it down through a damp cloth. Or very carefully use a steam iron.
Step 10
Doors and Windows
Now you can place the doors and windows. Choose a few scraps in a variety of colours, and iron fusible on the back. Cut a small square, rectangular, triangular or round shapes and place them on your houses. Once you are satisfied with the arrangement, remove the paper and iron them down.
Step 11
Add some green bushes if you wish.
Step 12
Boat
Make the boat by cutting a suitable base and two sail shapes from fabric with fusible on the back, and a narrow strip for the mast. Try it out on the piece, but WAIT until after quilting the sea, before fusing and stitching down the boat.
Step 13
Quilting
For the backing fabric cut a square bigger all round than your wadding, about 50 by 50cm (16” x 16’). Secure the three layers together with safety pins.
Step 14
Choose a nice selection of colour threads to match and/or contrast the different sections of your piece. To quilt, go round the edges of the houses, doors, windows and any other elements. I try to be more decorative on the roofs and use extra straight or curvy lines.
Step 15
The sea and sky are free-machine quilted with ondulating lines. The beach can be done similarly. It is nice to use variegated threads for those.
Step 16
Now you can fuse the boat onto the sea, and stitch each section down around the edges.
Step 17
Finishing Edges
Trim off the backing and wadding surplus fabric, squaring the piece. Then finish the edges, either by binding or fusing.
- For bound edges, cut 5cm (2”) wide strips, and bind as usual.
- For fused edges, cut 2.5 cm (1”) wide strips from fabric with fusible on the back. Iron half of the width (1/2”) to the front of the piece, fold the other half towards the back of the piece and iron down.
It’s nice to keep the edges the same colour as the main fabrics, which means changing colours in the edge strip and joining them as appropriate.
Make a sleeve for the piece, and a label with your name, and attach them to the back.
Photograph your final work to keep as a record.
Further information
Alicia is a well-known tutor who has taught at Festival of Quilts practically every year since its inception, to full and enthusiastic classes. She is a long-standing quilt artist, and her work is exhibited all over the world and has been juried more than once into the Fine Arts galleries at Festival of Quilts.
Alicia also teaches and exhibits throughout the UK and abroad, and she is currently offering ‘virtual’ talks to interested groups. She loves and appreciates the wonderful work produced by her students, and delights in the interaction with them
Alicia is best known for her pieced maps, for her personal use of colour, and also for her ‘ColourScapes’, of which this project is an example. Currently she is developing new work using digital design and printing on fabric. Her work is featured in a large number of books and magazines, in the UK and abroad. Her book-cum-catalogue Mapping the Imagination, produced for her 2014 exhibition of the same name at Festival, is now sadly out of print. However her work is featured in the forthcoming book New Directions: Exploring Art Quilts with SAQA.
Visit: www.aliciamerrett.co.uk
