Textile Art From Fabric Scraps

Textile Art From Fabric Scraps

June 5, 2023

The Spark

Inspiration photo of a tree at sunset

The Things

Supplies/Materials

  • Fabrics in colors for tree, bushes, land, and sunset
  • Thread in a variety of colors to achieve depth and contrast
  • Batting for stuffing
  • Wood for frame
  • Glue for frame
  • Nails for frame

Tools Used

  • Scissors
  • Rotary Cutter
  • Sewing Machine
  • Saw
  • Hammer
  • Clamps

Member Chris created a stunning textile art quilt. Many hours and many fabric scraps came together to create an art piece worthy of its inspiration.

The Process

Step 1

Inspiration

Untitled 2

Take an inspiration photo (figure 1), trace out the main details (figure 2)

Untitled
Step 2

Gather the Fabric

20210124_161755-1

Make fabric confetti (,  and lots of other fabric scraps then create textile art that looks like a canvas or photograph. Not an easy task to achieve. However, it was so much fun to watch it come to life layer by layer.

Step 3

Create the Sun and Leaves

20230227_120954-1

The sun and leaves were created by using a technique called “confetti quilting”. Starting with tiny bits of fabric, place them carefully on foundation fabric, cover with tulle and heavily stitch them to form a solid piece of new fabric. 

Step 4

Stitch the Bark of the Tree

20210521_094501

The focal point of this textile art piece (I think) is the tree. The tree started as a piece of black fabric which was heavily stitched to create the illusion of bark. Hours and hours of free motion quilting went into that step alone. Imagine drawing on paper by keeping the pen still, and only moving the paper. This is what it’s like, only the pencil in this case is the sewing machine needle, and the paper is my fabric.

Step 5

Stuff and Attach the Tree

20210706_132140

Now that the stitching was completed and it was cut apart, I attached it to the quilt & then  stuffed it with batting to give it a 3-D effect.

Step 6

Make a Frame and Mount

20230425_155719

My final step was to make a frame so I could mount it and hang it on the wall. Luckily for me there’s a woodshop available. So, I got to expand my skills and learned how to build my own custom sized frame.

Final Product

Reveiw and Reflect

20230426_180451

 This project while fun to see come to life, the process wasn’t always easy. There were things that if I were to do again, I may do differently. Like stuffing the tree after all the other quilting and details were completed. Stuffing it first made the quilt heavy and stiff rendering it difficult to feed through the sewing machine at times. So much so that I nick named it “The Beast”.  

As creators we know that not every project works out the way we invisioned. Mistakes are made, some can be corrected while others can not. But if we push through the tough times, learn from our mistakes and continue to create occasionally we end up with something that surprises or even amazes ourselves. Although this piece took longer than expected and even put aside for almost 6 months out of frustration. I am happy with the end result.

At FoxBuild you not only have all the tools you need to create whatever you can imagine, but you are surrounded by a community of creative minds who support you, offer suggestions and give encouragement.