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.