Originally Posted by
Diane K M
I haven't started, but you make everyone ready to start. This is beautiful!! Are you going to fill us in on your "hits" that you received?
Hi! Yes! Thank you for your comments.
She had me cut a piece of each selvage and glue stick them on a piece of paper - numbering them, left to right. I highlighted the even numbers, because you always iron towards the even. I put the sheet in a plastic sleeve to refer back to as I cut and sewed my project.
As I cut the strata's into the bargello, she had me pin (or use a clover clip) them to a poster board tri fold (for school projects). I waited until I had them all laid out (in order of the pattern) before I took the threads out at the bottom of each row, so if I made a mistake, I wouldn't have to re-sew the strata back together. I cut 2 sets at the same time, for the top and bottom, instead of cutting all the top, and then cutting all the bottom. (Hope that makes sense.)
I thought the poster board was ingenious, and found it so very helpful in laying it out so I could see what it was going to look like before sewing the rows together.
And, also, she had me cut each 42" strip, 2 1/2" (instead of 1 3/4" if you are following the pattern), making the overall table runner just a bit longer, while allowing to better show the fabrics. (I cut 3 strips of each of the 10 fabrics). So, you need just 1/4 yard of 10 colors.
I found Eileen Wright's book easy to understand and follow.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, when picking out which order to put the fabrics in, we photocopied in black and white what we thought was the right order (in value - light to dark). What my naked eye saw was completely wrong in black and white! I was able to make changes, instead of regretting my table runner after the fact. That was also invaluable!
Hope this helps!