Trapunto for the Commission

The Kousa Dogwood commission piece continues.

I love to add the additional dimension of extra padding behind a few key elements in the design. It adds to the sculptural aspects and highlights key elements in the design.

In fabric, this padding process is called "trapunto".

Here are a couple of photos of the process. The first photo is of the back of the largest most forward leaf. You can see the basting threads and the lines of the leaf and the veins in the leaf. The stitch lines serve several purposes, some decorative, some for stability of construction. The challenge is to make sure that lines that are needed for stability also serve the design as well.


The second photo is of the back of the berry after I removed the basting stitches and cut away the extra padding that was around the berry.

My next steps are to complete the trapunto process for the leaf and then I will do the two step basting process for the entire quilt. That is both equally necessary and unexciting to do.

Nancy

Creating Depth - VI - Quilters' Tools

Creating Actual Depth

Quilters' have the opportunity to create depth in several different ways. One technique I use is trapunto. Here is the reverse side of the top. Once the piece is quilted, these padded areas will have a definite additional dimension to them.




The two rose hips and just the tip of the small bent leaf have one layer of batting. I pinned a layer of the batting to the back of the top and sewed around the hips and the tip of the leaf.




I wanted some dimensional work inside the hips. I sewed between the two hips and then at the end of the hip where there is an indentation where the stamens were. I can increase the depth of these areas by sewing them again when they are quilted, or leave them unquilted for only small indentations.




Quilters can change the amount of depth by choosing some areas that are left unquilted and some areas that are densely quilted. We have more options that some other artists do for creating a sense of depth in our work.



The impact that the quilt line gives is largely why I love quilting rather than painting.



Nancy