Suz

One of my church members has asked me to make a wallhanging from blocks her granddaughter created. The artwork is from first grade to present. She is 8 years old. (The church family is raising funds to pay down the mortgage on an addition - thus my quilting to raise funds.)

Today she brought me 15 blocks that are screen printed onto silk. Silk?? it may be poly, regardless it is freying like craxy. The artwork blocks are all different sizes with wide margins on all sides so I have some wiggle room when sizing. There are rectangles, squares, circles and one wide rectangle.

My thought is to determine the setting; serge at the cutting line before cutting. Use wide seams (3/4"). Owing to the "silky" fabric, do I sash or pipe the blocks? And what kind of fabric? Cotton? I don't want to detract from the artwork. therefore I would use something plain. I plan to pin, pin and pin when sandwiching the project. I haven't gotten to the thought of FMQ as yet. Guess it will depent upon how the fabric responds to sewing. Another day!

Regarding the artwork. Like I said, it is from first grade to the present. I was absolutely amazed (should say blown away) at the quality of her talent and color choices and shading. The fine painting details are amazing, i.e., the back of the turtle, the lizard, the single flower. And like I said, she is only 8. She has some career ahead of her if she pursues art. Obviously, because it is original art, I cannot share her artwork w/you all.

Any feedback will be appreciated. Let me hear from you all, particularly those with experience in working w/silky fabric. Thank you.

pewa88

Sounds like a challenge ahead for you. I would suggest stabilizing the fabric with a fusible lightweight interfacing and also reinforcing the block margins before cutting them. I hope this project goes well for you.

Onebyone

Stabilize for certain. I would do that before cutting or sewing any of the blocks. This will prevent the fabric from slipping when sewn and stop the fraying.

lynnie

if you stabilize each block, you should be able to cut with no problem. add sashing to measure a cer size, say 13 x 13 inches, then put them together. I'd love to see it.( I always would put my pictures on of original blocks. I do a lot of applique.) don't have a working camera right now either. GOod luck

quiltedsunshine

Sounds like an amazing little girl! I hope your quilt raises some great funds for the family.

If you're going to fuse stabilizer to the back of silk or polyester, remember to turn the temperature of the iron down so it won't burn or melt.

Suz

Fusing? Will silk take to fusing? I may try to fuse on an edge or corner of one of the block w/wider field.

Also, the grandmother is hiring me to make the wallhanging which she intends to give back to her granddaughter when she turns 13. I will be paid for my efforts which in turn will be given to the church. And, Lynn, the blocks are not mine and will not post someone's work w/o out permission.

quiltedsunshine

That sounds like a great arrangement, and it's good of you to do that.

cashs_mom

Silk will definitely fuse. There are low temp fusible out there made just for silk. You could probably use the same on poly. I don't know. I would definitely fuse them. As Onebyone said, it will stop the fraying and make them easier to handle.

quilterpurpledog

silk is a low heat fabric so you will need to be careful of the kind of stabliizer you use with it. I would talk to a LQS (not Joann's or Hobby Lobby). You need more expert advice. You might ask if they can recommend a fiber artist for information since they work with a multitude of fabric and fiber components. Can you purchase a small piece of that same fabric to do a bit of experimenting on? Sounds like a challenge but a great one to be a part of.

Barb in Louisiana

Using Yahoo, I searched for
Pellon Fusible for polyester fabric
My thought is that Polyester and Silk are both low heat fabrics, so both will probably use the same type of fusibles.

The Joann link has a pdf that is really good for explaining which fusibles or interfaces work with different fabrics. I couldn't figure out how to make a link to the site, so I kept a copy for myself. Try this in your browser. P012982PellonInterfacingGuide.pdf