Need help with a large art horse quilt
 

I've been commissioned to make a Queen size quilt of a ladies horse, with two shams with the horses head on them. She would like for it to be as realistic as possible so I understand that there will be tons of applique. She wants only the horse, no pieced blocks on moss green background. The picture below isn't the picture I'll be using but it is the horse. We'll be setting up a day for better pictures in the near future. I suppose I could draw this out by hand if I had too. My questions would be..

1. what type of fabric for the horse?
2. where would I get the fabric?
3. is there a program to help with with the applique? I have EQ7 but find it very difficult to draw with.
4. Do you have picture of a horse quilt that you've made that looks realistic?
5. Is there a website or book with information on making a quilt from a photo?

Thanks for any help or advice you may have!
Lea

Lee,
I would hand sketch applique by hand & stick to solids or non-distracting fabrics for the applique...I might even consider hand dyed for that brown to get some variation in color. Additionally, I would ask for my client's approval for the final sketch and explain each of the pieces required and the hours already spent on the design.

In the approval meeting, I would also provide a small sample of a simple design with an explanation of how long the simple version took so they understand the amount of time required for this project. If you have difficulty drawing realistically by hand, I may have someone I can refer for assistance.

Best of luck,
Heather

I'm thinking raw edge applique with batiks (because they don't fray as much).

There is a software that you can upload a photo and it will print out a grid of either mosiac tiles (eg all 1" squares), or as a grid of pieces each shaped to the size of the color block (no two sizes/shapes alike). It is called QuiltedPhoto and you can buy it online here. I have an older version and it is very easy to use. You can choose sizes and shapes of the mosiac tiles (ie 1" square or 2" diamond), the amount of colors you want to pull out, and it will print on standard paper then you piece the pages together. Once you have all of the pages laid out on your wall or table, overlay with something sheer that you can use as a foundation. Lay your applique pieces over the foundation and secure them down (I used a glue stick to lay them out and once I was happy with an area I used clear mono-filament thread to stitch down the edges of each piece - all of my pieces overlapped others).

And don't forget ... whatever detail you might lose in the piecing, you can make up for in the quilting.

http://quiltedphoto.com/

I haven't managed to successfully do this yet, but it is theoretically possible. I have thought of using a photo to cross stitch program to design a watercolor quilt of a sunset over the water. I haven't figured out how to get the resolution right to get a decent conversion.

There are some books about doing landscapes, and photos by applique. They involve tracing the photo and tracing changes in color.

I'm curious about the same thing, since I'd like to make an applique of my black cat, something other than just a silhouette.

i would see if you can put the horse in a setting like a field or pasture. i did one with a deer in a feild with a creek and sunset sky. applique the deer. came out really nice.

i used batiks and love how it came out. it was very easy to work with. i thinknthis might be the easiest and best bet. good luck and post a pic when yu are done.

Toni Whitney does realistic horse quilts with batiks and fusible applique.

Go here for inspiration
http://www.toniwhitney.com/

Queen size?? A horse-only quilt??
I'm sorry, I can not even imagine having a nearly full sized horse standing on my bed, in a quilt or not. How weird. Wouldn't a picture transferred to fabric be the easiest way? Can one do that?

Jan in VA


Okay, that Tony Whitney stuff is amazing, I agree.

Wow, Toni Whitney is good...

My suggestion for designing your own pattern is to convert one copy of your color photograph into black and white. This will allow you to see shading and color/value shifts that are not as obvious in a color photo (at least not as obvious to me!). I have found if I reduce a photo to black and white, then trace it (over a light box or against a bright window) only marking the most obvious color/value shifts it becomes less overwhelming to build a pattern, and I am sure to include the lines that are most critical to the composition. You can always add detail back in through fabric choice (batiks are awesome, and Bug Fabric has a lot of great textural fabrics for doing fur and foliage), embroidery and quilting.

It sounds like an awesome project - exciting and challenging, and I hope lucrative for you! And I totally agree with retrogirl02's advice about getting customer approval at several stages: a non-quilter can have no idea about how long this project is going to take, and why it is going to (and should) cost a fair bit of gold.

Alison