Applique Remix and Christmas Classroom

So at first glance it would look as though I’ve not done much this week, but truth is I’ve been working on top secret things that are now wrapped up under the Christmas tree. I’m not sharing those makes just in case the recipients spot them on the blog and it spoils the surprise! I hope you’re able to find some time to make some handmade gifts too. It’s not too late for some quick projects. We have a number of free classes and project ideas over at DesignMatters…

If you click on the image on the left it’ll take you over to our Christmas Classroom where most of the content is completely free to access. You’ll also find a downloadable and printable version of this lovely original painting by Linda. This is our Christmas card to you this year and you’re welcome to use it to make your own handmade cards if you’d like to. There’s a class to show you how to do this, along with last year’s painting which is still available for you to use too.

On the pinboard I’ve just added this sample. I’ve been experimenting with digital stitch for the new course that I’m launching in 2023. I wanted to try an applique idea that I’d had in mind for a while. The concept is to remix a single piece of hand dyed fabric into an applique block by using one area for the background and then fussy cutting other areas for the applique shapes. I used a digital applique design from the MySewnet Library and stitched this in the hoop with my embroidery machine, but you could equally try the idea using conventional bonded applique instead.

There are four of these skulls so far and this latest one is by far my favourite. It’s got the closest feel to the original drawing in terms of the mark making. Below you can see the original drawing and a close up of the stitched version.

I’ve written a more detailed project post on how I’ve done this over on the DesignMatters website. Please head over there to take a look where you’ll see more step-by-step photos from the process.

Take a look at the class