by Beth Schillig
Faux Trapunto
“Tickled Pink” • 39¼ " x 34¼ "
a
fter collecting numerous hand-painted batik panels at quilt shows, I decided to start
using them. I enhance them with thread painting to highlight the motifs and bring them
to life, and then machine quilt using wool batting to add even more texture. I call this faux
trapunto because you do not cut away anything from the back of the piece. The illusion of
trapunto is created by the wool batting—there is nothing else like it!—and dense quilting
in the background, which makes the central motif pop up. If you don’t have a batik panel, a
medium- or large-scale printed motif will work well, too.Th read-painted