How to coordinate color-soaked batiks
to make fanciful fall foliage Next… creating the fabulous leaves that will be a focal point on our Autumn Harmony quilted sampler. Begin by cutting 2” wide strips from various green batik scraps. These should be at least 10” long.
Stacks of green strips come together in a string piecing symphony of color.
I cut about 80 strips from the scraps I’d scrounged from my quilting buddies. You can take a more design-oriented approach, but I kind of enjoyed the randomness of it all. There was some order to it, honest. When I cut strips from one fabric, I grouped them all together in the same pile. I found it easier to have the scraps grouped when I began putting the leaves together. String-piecing method for each leaf: Cut eight pieces of thin quilter’s muslin, 9” wide by 13” long.
Group the strips together to make it easier to mix up the colors when string piecing the leaves.
Start at the center of the muslin rectangle, placing a scrap right side up and a slight angle. Pin into place. Place a the next strip on top of the pinned one, right sides together, making the raw edges align as best you can. Use a short stitch length and sew through the fabric and muslin, using a ¼” seam. Finger press the seam allowance, using the handy finger presser. Add the next strip, continuing until the muslin is covered.
Start by placing one green strip at a bit of an angle in the center of a muslin rectangle.
You’ll be doing eight stringpieced rectangles. Press the finished rectangles on the top (right side) of the fabric with a generous spray of Flatter. It smells heavenly, and will provide a smooth surface for next project – the fabulous fall foliage on the Autumn Harmony quilted sampler.
Sew another strip onto the first one, and use a finger pressing tool to make it as flat as possible.
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