This is the quilted background after I painted it. Don't fret about it's wretchedness, most of it will be covered up by layers. I only painted the middle sections because the paint does stiffen the fabric a little bit and I thought that might be helpful down the road.
Here you can see that I've strung about 30 pieces of flower wire through the quilt and back up to the top. In each case about 8" or so is sticking up. It took a fair amount of marking on each layer and on the base to get these in exactly the right spot to go through all the layers, but sadly I neglected to take a picture of that step. Each piece of wire has a plastic bead on it which will make the layers stay separated.
Here you can see that I've threaded the first layer (8000 feet) onto the middle section by poking the flower wire through the fabric layer. I've put another set of beads on in preparation for the next layer.
Here you can see I've paused midway through putting the fourth layer on so you can gen an idea of how it assembles. All those wires get kind of tangled up but are way easier to deal with than 30 threads going at once (how I did it last time) which was a nightmare.
And skipping ahead about 8 hours, here you can see that I've finished assembling all the layers on the middle section and have moved on to the next section. This whole process was a bit hard on the fingers, and the flower wire was a bit hard to poke through the fabric, but it worked. After building up all the layers, I threaded the ends of the wire back through to the back of the quilt, twisted the two ends together, and then buried the ends individually. That part took forever, and unfortunately I pulled some of the wires too tight and still have to go back and undo them so the front isn't crushed.
In any case, you get the idea! So far, I'm loving the way the layers ripple. Hopefully I'll get it finished soon since the show deadline which I'm aiming for is coming up quickly!
Linking up with Nina Marie as always!
I agree, love the layers!
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you showing us how this process goes. I was going to ask how you came up with the wires but it sounds like it was trial and error after trying threads. I like your idea of the beads to keep them stable. You have a wonderful imagination.
ReplyDeleteThis is looking awesome, lots of work but worth it. Did you hand dye the fabric?
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's painted rather than dyed, but yes, I painted it (with a mix of acrylic paint and latex house paint) after cutting but before assembling.
DeleteThis is fascinating. I like both the initial idea and how you are carrying it out - the layers look fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the very time consuming process, I love the results.
ReplyDeleteSuch a neat process! I'm loving the depth and topography effect... now do the beads stay in for additional depth, or are they just helpers with the flower-wire and placement? So many questions about how you're tackling this, I can't wait to see the end-result! :D
ReplyDelete