Quilterfay

I lady from our guild does lots of picture quilts. She takes the picture to a place that copies blue prints and has the picture in larger and get a couple extra prints she can use them to cute out her pieces. They turn out fantastic!

TnBecky

Oh so glad I found this thread. I have been searching for the same things. Thanks for the information.

SmickChick

Take the image into Photoshop, and select Filters/dry brush OR paint daubs to simplify it. Then fabric fuse/raw applique it.
Good Luck!

applique

I use photos. Enlarge on a color copier to about 11X17 then trace the color changes to whatever degree of detail I want onto plastic. Back the plastic with white paper and enlarge to the size I want and use this as my pattern. I have done landscapes this way too and posted on this board maybe under my blog.

JustAbitCrazy

Piecing human faces, as in the dog above, is tricky. If you use too few pieces, it won't look natural. If you use too many, the person ends up looking like a monster. But there are good books for doing this, and it can be done. I can recommend Focus On Features, by Charlotte Warr Anderson, and Work In Fabric and Thread, by Deidre Scherer.

Marsha333

I have taken a few courses at Craftsy. The courses are nice because you can view and review any time and even ask questions. Different instructors use different techniques, but I have been able to use the techniques to create my own. You can lay thin paper over the picture and draw in the major points. Don't be too specific. Then to get it the size you want take it to staples or somewhere like that and blow your pattern up to whatever size you want. Start you pieces with the things that are the furthest away and work forward.

hevemi

Try this free software (Quiltassistant)
http://www.cosman.nl/software_en.html