Showing posts with label embellishments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label embellishments. Show all posts

Monday, May 21, 2012

Embellishments, Crazy Quilts and Projects


The artist in the world of crazy quilting, has a passionate affair with embellishments next to embroidery and sewing. One cannot imagine the delight to be found in this particular area of quilting. Mind you, embellishments aren’t just relegated to a crazy quilt but have been around in the clothing industry for - well, a very long, long time as mentioned in my Sewing Chronicles article.

Fabric offers the artist, a blank canvas to work upon. Now who wouldn’t take delight in filling up all this ‘space’ with this, that and the other thing? how many people would get bored, just looking at a ‘empty’ space? how long would you last? I’m not suggesting hoarding, but least, we like to hopefully ‘decorate’ a space at least, pleasing to the eye for not just ourselves but for others to enjoy.

Embroidery is a embellishment and applied in a variety of colors and stitches on, over and around, the seams of each quilt ‘block’ in a crazy quilt. It can be applied to other sewing projects besides quilting. It does require patience and care in use of colors,  for visual appeal and interest.

Embellishments to add to a crazy quilt besides embroidery can be an array of objects or more stitchery. Items such as the following can be added ;

- beads - sequins
- rhinestones - cabachons
- lace - appliques
- buttons - charms
- tatting - ribbons

Sources to locate these items can be craft stores, sewing supply shops, thrift stores, craft guild members, family and friends. There will be costs to consider therefore best to investigate first before deciding upon your purchases. If you have other idea's, please share them in the comments.

I highly recommend visiting your local quilt show and visit a Crazy quilt booth. I am positive you will find them irresistible and beautiful. Every quilt on display will vary in design and embellishments so pay attention to the details. As I’ve said numerous times, no two quilts are the same. Also, don’t be shy to speak with the artist about their quilts, and if interested in purchasing one, enquire about payment options. One can also visit  museums to view antique crazy quilts.

Extra Resources

Needlework Tips and Techniques

The Embroiderers Association of Canada, Inc.

Sublime Stitching 


I hope you found this article informative. Please feel free to leave your comments and share your own thoughts, experiences and/or observations. Send me a email if you are interested in placing a Order, visit my Gallery, or say hello. It's FREE to subscribe by Email or my RSS Feed.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Holiday Gifts Crazy Quilt Wall hanging

The Christmas holidays are upon us and ideas galore swim through our minds. Some gifts are easy to choose for friends and/or family whereas ideas for others may leave us stumped and we wander through store after store trying to get inspired.

One gift idea can be giving a handmade home decoration such as a Crazy quilt wall hanging. Now why choose this? Home decorating can be fun for everybody but will depend on personal taste and styles. One has to like color, details and whimsy since a crazy quilt encompasses these qualities.

The days of yore with castles and monarchies, wall hangings and tapestries, of all sizes, were used for decorative purposes. Royalty, monasteries, nobility, wealthy merchants and farmers were the main patrons of fiber artists to provide these decorative pieces for their homes therefore were quite splendid and beautiful. These wall hangings and tapestries also sharpened the acoustics of a room. This particular piece of home decoration slowly diminished over time changing fiber crafts into industries.

A crazy quilt wall hanging can be made in various sizes, colors and embellished with embroidery, ribbons, beads, buttons, lace, charms, and assorted embroidered designs. Fabrics can range from simple cottons to expensive silk, satin, velvet and brocade. It’s the finished product that will provide the visual delight, interesting topic of conversation, become a art collection, and one-of-a-kind showcase gift.

Crazy quilt wall hangings are gaining popularity amongst art collectors due to the skill and labor involved in the creation not to mention, no two quilts are the same. We can give three colors of fabric to three individuals and each will piece it together with their own distinct style and therein lies the beauty of a crazy quilt.

A crazy quilt wall hanging can be found online with a search query. Numerous quilting guilds can also be found online and in our telephone books. It’s considered a textile and/or fiber art and can be a collector’s item. As I mentioned before regarding choice, it’s best to choose one for somebody who can appreciate something beautiful and unusual. I wish you a Merry Christmas, safe and Happy New Year!

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Monday, October 17, 2011

Quilt Fashion Sense

The rules of fashion is individual as each person in choosing their clothing style. History tells us that clothing has been been used to send the message of our place in society and express our identity without verbal communication necessary. Fashion trends are known to change when the style has saturated the market and ceases to be distinctive.

The world of sewing includes the fashion world therefore only natural that a touch of our quilting skills get added. This may be the simple addition of applying a applique, quilt blocks or embellisments with embroidery. Not everybody wants to follow the crowd of fashion trends so adding or creating our own finishing technique can help set us apart. Look at how the many music bands and singers will have their own fashion styles going on.

Quilt blocks can be added as decorative edging, insert, or a whole garment. Colors will coordinate, complement or add contrast and change the overall appearance. We can have clothes that are fun and playful, romantic, daring, conservative and whatever mood happens to inspire the creation. It's a process that's open to the imagination of the owner. Even people with no sewing skills will seek out somebody who can make the addition to their garment -same as the fashion designer assigns such tasks to the seamstress.

Applique designs are added atop as a layer to the garment and can be simple or complicated depending upon the effort one wants to apply. Appliques can be sewn by hand or machine and embellished with embroidery, fabric paint or beads for a extra decorative effect. Decorative embellishments such as the afore mentioned can again, be simple or complicated depending upon the effort one is willing to put into producing the finished product.

One project involving my joy of Crazy quilting -I up-cycle some skirts for myself,friends and family is with adding a crazy quilted ruffle to A-line skirts. This changes the length and I enjoy wearing semi -long skirts.  We know that crazy quilting can have a haphazard look therefore one will get a 'distinctive' appearance with the various shapes and colors. The addition of embroidery and other embellishments allows the 'artist' in me to get creative. I prefer not to add a lot of embellishments since I don't want the weight of the ruffle to have my skirt hanging wrong when wearing it!

Ruffles on a skirt come in different shapes and are easy to add. We can take any skirt with a ruffle pattern and convert it into a unique piece to call our own. Other gals admired my skirt and requested skirts of their own and each one is different and I don't have to worry about a 'duplicate' skirt to compete with my own. I use a very light fabric for the foundation to lay my crazy quilt fabrics and line the back before attaching it to the body of the skirt. Lining the back will hide my sewing and embroidery threads.

The profession of the clothing designer is competitive and associated with creativity and glamour. Who doesn't want to create their own 'haute couture' fashion statement that may lead to inspiring a trend? So go ahead, take a look around and see how you can set yourself apart with your own project and step out with your own personal fashion statement.

I hope you found this article informative. Please feel free to leave your comments and share your own observations plus give your Vote. Send me a email if you have a request on a topic of interest, place a Order or to say hello. Feel FREE to Follow, subscribe by Email or my RSS Feed.