Monday, February 21, 2011

Trapunto and Cording

Blue Linen Flowers - flower closeup.
Blue Linen Flowers - heart and flower closeup.
Blue Linen Flowers
I have wanted to try both cording and trapunto for some time now. I remember, as a child, my mother making a trapunto rabbit, encircled in an Art Nouveau style quilted circle, on a cushion. It appealed to me so much that the memory remains very strong, and I have retained a desire to work with trapunto. However the first thing is to try it. So I embarked on Blue Linen Flowers (six inches by six inches).

The flowers and hearts are have both been filled with a little filling via incisions from behind. I found it difficult to evenly distribute the filling and they are still quite lumpy. I think one needs patience to insert only very small amounts of filling. I am not sure the best filling to use either - I used white polyester soft toy stuffing, I thought it would be alright but it is very springy. Maybe something a bit denser would be better, perhaps pieces of soft cotton fill. That may be even more lumpy though.

I really enjoyed the cording. I stitched one line of stitching first, then lay the cord alongside and stitched it in place. That way I didn't have to thread it through and worry about getting around corners.  It looks great encased in the linen, with the stitches on either side, and forms a good border around the trapunto flowers and hearts.

At close of weekend needle I was about halfway through some more exploratory stitch and fabric work that I can't wait to post.

Happy stitching everyone, Gilly

13 comments:

  1. Im a big cording fan...once had a lovely 30s 40s hot water bottle cover in grey grosgrain with an intricate art nouveau design...wonder where it is...

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  2. love the colors and the stitching. i took a class in trapunto long ago and we used wash away thread to make the initial stitching...can't remember what we did after that but it was real easy to accomplish. no stuffing...i'll see if i can find the instructions if you're interested.

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  3. ok. i googled it and here's a good tutorial:
    http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/2010/03/adding-trapunto.html

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  4. These are beautiful. I don't know that I would have the patience. As for stuffing in small places, have you tried using a cuticle stick? I use them all the time when I stuff my birds and small doll parts. They are small enough that they fit anywhere and push the stuffing into tiny places.

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  5. Really appealing and peaceful...

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  6. Gilly, you have such a distinct style that is so very appealing. Look forward to seeing what your working on next!

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  7. Hi Jan - love to see a photo of the hot water bottle if you find it.

    Thanks heaps Deanna (as usual!)- I 'll have look.

    Thanks for the tip Penny - I'll get a cuticle stick.

    Hi Suzanna- yes there is something peaceful about the design - reassuring somehow.

    Penny - I cannot see that I have style yet- thank you so much for writing this. I hope I CAN see 'my' style emerge in the future.

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  8. Thanks jude - as I said to Penny I hope to begin to recognise a personal style some time in the future! I am excited about the cloth I am working on right now though so that is a good sign. Gilly

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  9. You have got a very personal style, it is really lovely. I love the French knots and the grub roses! as well as the trapunto and Italian corded quilting.

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  10. this is fantastic gilly, the way you have puffed them out and the chording is beautiful.

    the gentle tones are so well balanced here.

    have to have another look

    xt

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  11. oh, so lovely.
    delightfully inspiring!

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  12. I really do like this piece, its so calming and your stitching is divine

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