I give up! Perseverance does not always win.
I’ve written previously about this whole cloth quilt that I am obsessed with. Just to review, this is my inspiration:
This quilt was made between 1830 and 1850, probably in the area of Marsielle, France, by an unknown maker. I saw it in person at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska while attending the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) Conference. I swooned upon seeing this quilt. It. Is. Stunning.
As I studied this quilt, I knew I MUST make a quilt inspired by this beauty. I studied it and what attracted me the most are two things: the fluffy border and its loose, imperfect, romping motifs. First, I had to figure out that border.
I will not detail the entire tedious process but there was waaaaay more to it than would meet the eye. I have worked for 5 days just trying to get a decent mock-up that will approximate the final border. Drafting this was no walk in the park. You have to have the right gear:
I could not have done this without the right tools. I had not yet used Sue Heinz’s Circleliner. I heard about it on her recent Quilt Show episode. Just reason #345 why you need The Quilt Show. It is an excellent tool, very well designed and will make circles up to 24 1/2″. The green template was perfect for the scallops.
It was not easy to draft this:
This was only my 10th draft. I had to get the size and spacing right and that took some experimenting and math. But this was the look I wanted, so it was worth it.
Scallops were a challenge: they had to be just the right size to fill the space and it was tricky figuring out the corners and how to keep them from running over each other. It’s a really good thing that I like math! Here are just a few of the iterations:
You can see my progress, as some of the scallops are a bit wonky with spongy edges, while some have crisp, perfect edges. I used Pellon Bi-Stretch Lite (a fusible) to stabilize the dupioni and eliminate the shredding. I use this with all shredding fabrics.
After 5 days of messing with the scallops, this was the mock-up I got. Bleh. I did forget to put the Bi-Stretch Lite in which would have made for a much smoother edge. Also, it’s not quilted yet and I haven’t steamed it, both of which would contribute to a significantly better edge. I did remove the batting from the seam:
That little pile of puff on top is the cut-off batting.
But still, it did not look like I was going to achieve the crisp edge that I wanted. Keep in mind that entire scalloped edge would need to be completed before quilting the quilt! And, then I still had to figure out how I was going to join up the edge of the scallop facing with the backing of the quilt. I had worked up a plan for that, but it hadn’t yet nailed it down. Five days of near constant work with many roadblocks and detours and all I got was this sloppy edge. Sigh. Now what? Time for a Plan B.
The original quilt had what appeared to be a buttonhole-stitched edge and I see why! It is beyond rocket science to be able to trapunto the top and get crisp, fluffy edges before quilting the center and then figuring out how to join it all together. So I tried the buttonhole stitch thing:
I have not had time to develop this, but it looks like this is the only way to go, just as the original maker had. I tried Aurifil 12 wt in this sample and it covers well, but I think I want to use silk thread and it will have to be a pretty hefty thread. It will only be a zillion dollars for the thread,no biggie! I wonder how long it will take to hand stitch a buttonhole edge around the perimeter of a 60″-ish by 70″-ish scalloped quilt. Geez let’s just make this harder!
I feel like I could continue to pursue the faced-scallop thing, but after 5 days of all-day work, I think I’ve got to hang it up. You don’t always win and sometimes you just have to go with Plan B. I intend to get really good at the buttonhole stitch – I’ll have lots of time to practice on this quilt! Stay tuned. I’m linking up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday!
Keep in mind that you DO have a “Best of Show” in the works!!!
You can & will accomplish your own interpretation and it will be a beautiful masterpiece!
Praying for you!
Very interesting. Please keep us updated on your thinking and progress. The end result will be gorgeous.
Thank you for your vote of confidence Joanne! I will be showing my progress on the blog and it may be long in the making.
I love your persistence! Enjoying your book too. ?
Thank you Diane! It gives me a smile to know you are enjoying my book!
Jenny, This is Mai. Your student from Craft Napa. I used to do hand stitch scallop like that many moons ago. I used DMC cotton and doing the running stitches along the edged before go over with buttonhole stitches. Only trim the edges after finished the whole thing!!!! Everything you doing, gorgeous anyway…
Yes Mai – thank you so much for this insight!! The tip about running stitches and not trimming until it’s finished are great insights. Thank you for sharing your experience with me!
I hope you are thinking about some place you. Can use you “less than perfect to you” experiment where it will be perfect for what you are doing.
Hi Kay, oh you can be sure I am going to save my drafted pattern and my step-outs! You just know someday they will be just the right touch for some project. I just hope it’s not too long from now:-)
My dear, sweet friend…
I’m pretty sure you know this…and yet…and yet…
That quilt was finished **by hand** — I’m pretty sure. I can’t get a close-up of it for confirmation but given the dates and location, I’m thinking it was done with exquisite hand-work that nowadays is perpetuated by the Royal School of Needlework and emulated by artists such as Karen Ruane, with whom Judy Warner and Nancy Cook have studied. It’s likely a blanket- or satin- stitched embroidered edge…and no machine is fine enough to replicate the work of the human hand with something that delicate. Hugs!
Hi Margaret. I do know it was finished by hand and that it was blanket or satin stitched. I am not trying to replicate the quilt, it is my inspiration and some parts of it are more inspiring to me such as the edge treatment. I like the “fluffiness” of it and I don’t intend for my machine to replicate her work, only to produce a look which pleases me. I’m just taking the long road there!
Jenny, obviously I’m missing something here. Why does the scalloped border need to be done before you quilt the center of the quilt? How will you know how much the center portion will “shrink” due to the quilting? I don’t understand how it will all fit together.
All that being said, your inspiration quilt is gorgeous! Hurray for you for taking on this challenge.
Thank you for reading so carefully Mrs. Plum! The scallops cannot be finished after the quilt has been quilted unless I do a traditional binding which does not excite me. Because of that they would need to be done before quilting. envision two tectonic plates, (this is the best analogy I could think of – stay with me!). I would do the facing and quilt that section. Then separately I would put on a backing that would cover the back minus the edges and quilt in a traditional manner. Then I would cut the facing to match the edges of the backing plus seam allowances and applique the two together to create a unified backing. there would be some remedial quilting where the two edges meet. It would be a massive pain! And I am sure there are issues which I could not anticipate until I am at that point, which scares me to death! Hence, Plan B.
Would it work if you quilted the center of the quilt (with backing extending out past the border area), then mark and quilt the borders out to the scalloped edge? You could then sew on a facing along the scalloped edge, sewing from the back side where you could see your quilting. Then trim and turn the facing to the back side and hand stitch the facing edge to the backing. Instead of just leaving the facing on the back a straight edge, you could trim it to be the width of a binding edge, matching the scallops, and then needle turn applique the facing/binding to the back?
That was my exact intention. But it would be tedious to the extreme: it is trapuntoed. I would have to choose a place to stop quilting near the edge but it could not be too close as there will be trapuntoed flowers in each scallop. That would by its very nature leave the bottoms of each trapuntoed leaf and flower stem from the quilt’s center unquilted. Then I would have to applique the back to the scallop facing, then do a perfect union of the stitch line from the first quilting in the center with the quilting done of each bottom after the scallop finish….. x 100. Just simply not feasible. This is driving me crazy! Thank you for thinking this through with me Sherry!
As I have repeatedly said:. “You are one amazing Cookie”! Cannot imagine having your patience & tenacity. Of course, I also have no talent!
Awww thank you Ila! YOU HAVE TALENT GIRL!!! Tenacity is something I have in spades:-)
Bless your heart! Uncommon Thread carries YLI 50 weight that would be good for your buttonhole stitch, their prices are the best I’ve found: https://www.uncommonthread.com/30-wt-Silk-Thread-s/255.htm
Have you considered or testing a machine stitched buttonhole edge finish? Once you got the hang of pivoting in the scallops it would go a lot faster than hand stitching. Another option would be a very narrow silk ribbon binding. A hand stitched buttonhole edge would be gorgeous, just throwing out other ideas to consider. This quilt is going to be a stunner!!
Thank you Rebecca Grace! All those are great ideas, every one. I need to do some testing, hopefully next week.
My head is spinning just reading this! I really admire your persistence. Let it sit for a bit and then return to it with renewed energy. I suspect you will wind up with a most amazing interpretation.
BTW, I am curious if the Pellon Bi-Stretch Lite changes the hand of the duponi very much.
Thank you for reading and your comments Judy! The Bi-Stretch does not alter the hand which is why I use it. It is expensive – $5/yd or so for I think 20″ wide. But it is a dream product.