Collaged Background Step 1

These fabric collage pieces all begin with some kind of background or support. Using Valerie Goodwin's technique, I'll show you how I began with fabrics from My Pink House, seen in my last post.

Selecting my fabrics for this technique is pretty easy and a lot of fun because any bloopers blend in so well in the later stages. I generally start with a range of lights, mediums, and darks in the color or colors I have in mind for my finished piece. It is easiest to assemble the collage if the pieces are cut into smallish rectangles, although with a little experience you can use any shapes you want, as raw edges ARE allowed. Above, I assembled my cut fabrics on the crinoline to which I will attach them. (Crinoline was discussed in a past post this month - nice firm backing and easy to stitch through by hand later in the process.)

 I start by stitching one fabric piece to the crinoline by machine, then adding the others, folding each piece over the seam. I often press the pieces down as I go but that's not essential.

 Once my fabrics are stitched onto the background, I begin stitching on the surface to ensure that each edge is surely attached. Decorative stitches can be fun and/or helpful here. Use any color you wish. We used black top stitching in Valerie's class and it looked great.

To finish this stage, I trim the edges.

Next step - making all those different colors and patterns look unified.