Quilt Now - UK (2020-04)

3838 http://www.quiltnow.co.uk http://www.quiltnow.co.uk

Discover the machine-stitched Hawaiian-style appliqué

technique with Sarah’s easy-to-follow technique guide

Spotlight

TECHNIQUE

HAWAIIAN-STYLE

APPLIQUÉ

MASTER

Hawaiian appliqué is traditionally a

hand-stitched and needle-turned form of

appliqué using large, radially symmetrical,

natural designs and forms. It displays

natural landscape where it originates

from and a shared love of the islands.

Certain features mark a design as typically

Hawaiian and one is the large central

shape, which is symmetrical along a

number of plains, the echo stitching inside

and outside the design, and the bold

single colour design (though sometimes

additional colour accents may be added).

Traditional Hawaiian appliqué is created

using a needle-turned hand sewing

method, but this method uses your

sewing machine and a standard sewing

foot to produce fast, effective results.

In the 1820s it is believed that missionaries

Sarah’s Hawaiian-style appliqué blocks

MATERIALS

    ◆ 0.5m Heat N Bond

    ◆ 0.25m black or white fabric

    ◆ 0.25m contrast

    ◆ backing & wadding to fit

first introduced the Hawaiians to the

art of quilting. Because the islands are

so isolated, fabric was hard to come

by and so by the 1870s the Hawaiians

had developed a very unique and

distinctive style, sometimes using

just two pieces of fabric. Typically,

one brightly coloured fabric is used

for the large appliqué piece and a

white or cream fabric (usually made

from a bedsheet) was used for the

background. Additional pops of colour

are sometimes added. The traditional

palette was quite simple, resulting in a

bold and easily recognisable quilt. The

appliqué piece fills the entire quilt top

and is cut from a single piece of fabric,

in a similar way to how we would cut

out a paper snowflake.

HOW TO GUIDE

1

Cut your Bondaweb into a square and

fold it into four quarters, then fold

that quarter in half to create a triangle.

2

Draw a pattern! The pattern needs

to touch both sides of the folded

paper and radiate from the centre

point. Fluid lines are good because

natural forms are a firm Hawaiian

favourite and keep the design simple.