Much of my sewing is governed by what scrap bin is overflowing--it's like planning dinner around a gardenful of zucchini.
In today's project we can see that the box of wool and cashmere sweaters (collected from the thrift store and then felted) was pretty full, and it was time to make a blanket.
This is a very soft blanket. I'm still thinking about a very soft back for it.
It's beautiful and looks so cozy! I'm curious though, did you use anything to stabilize the pieces so they wouldn't stretch out while you were sewing them? I have a lot of sweaters that I was thinking of doing something with but I wasn't sure about how to proceed with it.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely, and I love the zucchini analogy! I think that's how I piece, too.
ReplyDeleteYou could piece the back, as well. I did this on a living room throw quilt so it would look good from both sides; it was not easy to quilt at the seams, but I'm not a precise quilter.
But in this case, you would really make inroads in your scraps and have the same material on the back without finding a large felted something. I'm not sure a woven or even a knit backing would do well on such a blanket. But I'm eager to see what you come up with!
Oh I want to make one!
ReplyDelete~Suzanne
I cannot even wrap my mind around the volume of sewing projects that come out of your house in a week. Just one of these quilts would be a year-long project for me! Just "thinking" about them would be lengthy!
ReplyDeleteKath, the pieces are felted and so not very stretchy. I feed them carefully under the foot using a zigzag stitch, and the slight stretch that shows up at the end of the seam gets hidden when I sew the long strips together.
ReplyDeleteMargo, I've used a heavy silk charmeuse on one of these before, but don't have any now. Still thinking . . .
I had a thought, and considering that I am pretty inexperienced when it comes to sewing, it may not even be a good one. But, here it is anyway ~what about using something like a flat felled seam to join the squares? Would that even be possible? If it would be possible (and hopefully not too much extra trouble) then wouldn't the blanket be "finished" on both sides and not even need a backing?
ReplyDeleteI really love your blanket, Anna. It is such a great idea that I am seriously considering trying it myself!
~Kate
Lovely! The colors are absolutely dreamy.
ReplyDelete