Today_s_Quilter_-_November_2019

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ESSENTIALGUIDE lfabricstripweaving


FA BR IC W E AV I NG


W


eavingwithfabricstripsis greatfun,andtheendresultis thatyou
haveactuallycreatedyourownfabrictoworkwith.It’samazinghow
stripsoffabriccanlookquiteordinarybut,whenwoventogether,
createsomethingreallyspecial.Whena wovenpieceis finished,it canbeusedas
a panelfora project,such as a bag front, or as a block to be combined with other
patchworkblocks.
Fabricweavinga blockcanbequitesimpleif thestripsarewovenbi-axially(in
twodirectionsoraxis).Morecomplicatedeectscanbecreatedwithtri-axial
weaving,whichwemaylookat ina futureEssentialGuide.Therearedierent
methodsforfabricweaving,sothereis noonerightorwrongway.Inthisarticle,
wewillbelookingat basicweavingalongverticalandhorizontalaxis.Thefabric
stripsusedcanallbethesamewidthorvariablewidths,sotherearemany
variationsyoucantryonceyouarefamiliarwiththeprocess.If youenjoythe
technique,therearespecial wefting needles you can get that make the fabric
strip weaving easier.

USING


FUSIBLE


INTERFACING
Fusibleinterfacingcanbe veryuseful
asa basefabricto useunderthefabric
strips,asthefinalpositionsof thestrips
canbe fixedbyfusingthemto the
interfacing.Beforeyoubeginplacing
thestrips,pintheinterfacingto thebase
boardwiththeshinysideup.Onlyuse
the iron at the end of the positioning.

Thiscushionusesfourdifferentfabricstwolight-coloured
fabricsasthebaseverticalsanda mediumanda darkfabric
asthehorizontals.Thehorizontalsarewovenoverandunder
twoverticalstripsata timetogivea rectangularlook.A
borderofunpiecedfabricwasaddedtothewovenblockto
provide an easy edge for making up the cushion cover

CHOOSING FABRICS
Thefabricsyouuseareuptoyou.Everystripcanbea dierentfabricif you
wanta veryscrappylook,butit’susuallyquiteeectivetochooselight,medium
anddarkcombinationstoemphasisetheverticalandhorizontalpatternsformed
bytheweaving.Selectingfabricswithsmall-sizetomedium-sizeprintpatterns
tendstobemoresuccessfulthanverylarge-scalepatternswhichwon’tshow
wellinnarrowstrips.Youcancreatesometrulyinterestingeectswhenusing
dierenttypesoffabricsinyourweaving such as marbled fabrics, batiks and
graded, ombré coloured fabrics.

PREPARING


A BASE
Forthemethoddescribedinthis
article,stripsaresecuredtoa base
board.Thesizeofthebaseneedsto
bea coupleofincheslargerthanthe
intendedblocksize.Forthebase,all
youreallyneedis somesortofsurface
thatdressmakingpinscanbepushed
intoand,thatwilltaketheheatofan
iron.Youcanbuya specialblocking
boardforthis,butmakesureit takes
dressmakingpinsandnotthick
woodendowelsasthesewillnotpass
throughfabric.Here are some base
suggestions:
QUsea corkboard(suchasan
inexpensivepinboard from a high-
streetstationers).
QUsea thicksheetofpolystyrene
(suchasthatusedfor packaging
largeequipment).
QUsea thickpieceoffoamboard
(suchasinsulationfoam).
QForsmallerprojects,a padded
ironingboardwouldwork,aslong
as pins can be pushed into it.

TECHNICALTIP
Ribbonsareanexcellent
andquickwaytotry
thetechniqueoffabric
weavingandmake
pretty projects.
Free download pdf