Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Dragon Quilt Wall Hanging - Part 3

Last night I did the fussy cutting of the dragon. I use Misty Fuse for this kind of intricate work because it is quite fine so it doesn't add a lot of bulk to the applique piece. Once it's on the back of the piece that will be appliqued, it pretty well stops the fabric from fraying when you are cutting it out, and it's not very gummy on your scissors or the sewing machine needle.

I don't like using Steam a Seam for any applique work because it is really bulky, doesn't give you the precision you need and it's hard on your hands when cutting out shapes. There is another one called Wonder Under which I use for shapes that aren't as intricate, but it's a bit stiffer and for something like this with all those in and out scales on his back it would be tough.

Today when I got home while it was still light out I got it positioned on my top and ironed it in place. Tomorrow will be the outer borders. I have a turquoise fabric that will be a 1" inner border and then a purple jacquard weave for a 3"outer border. Then comes the quilting part. First will be work on the dragon, doing some outline work and then I have to have a look around to figure out what to do on the rest of the background and the borders. Flames seem to be the obvious and I don't know if I want to go down that road.

4 comments:

Librarynan said...

Wow! Very ambitious of you to applique the ragon! I really like the convergence background, too.

Purple Paisley Patch said...

The dragon is fantastic, I love it! Thanks for all the info about the different fusibles, it is great to get these tips from others and learn by their experience. In terms of quilting, what about using the scales as your inspiration and doing a continuous scale-like pattern all over???
I think I'm at about 30 odd blocks for the Bushfire Quilt, need to lay it out and figure out how many blocks, how they go best together, and if I need more. When I have it laid out I'll take a photo so you can see what I've been labouring over! It isn't that exciting, but I think it will look bright and cheery when finished.
Talk/write again soon.
Kelly :-)

Unknown said...

How cool is that....It looks awesome and you are really doing an amazing job.

hetty said...

I love seeing the progress you are making! It looks great!