Hi! My name is Brooke from Silly Mama Quilts, blog and etsy shop. I am here today as a part of Amanda's Design Team to present my Sweet Divinity Project. In case you are wondering about my blog and shop name, let me explain that when you are a Mom to 4 kids ages 6-23, you are a Silly, Silly Mama!!
Sweet Flower Wall Hanging project
Finished size – 44 ½ x 46
Fabric Requirements
Variety of pieces for background and flower appliqués
Fat quarter for the first border cut into 8 2” strips
One yard for the outside border cut into 5 4 ½” strips
One and half yards for backing and batting of your choice
Half of a yard for binding – 5 2 ½” strips
To begin this project, gather a variety of fabrics pieces – rectangles, fat quarters and some yardage for borders and binding. For this project I used the entire collection of fabric from Sweet Divinity. Using fabrics from the same collection simplifies the decision making process and ensures that the fabrics coordinate.
I sorted through my fabrics, separating the lighter fabrics from the rest of the line. I had a variety of sizes to work with.
Next I did a layout of the lighter pieces mixing prints and solid pieces for a background like this.
When you have an arrangement pleasing to your eye, you can begin sewing rows together. I trimmed my pieces and then sewed them into rows like this. The picture below shows the rows sewn together. Before sewing the rows together, make sure the seams offset each other for variety. I purposely don’t want my blocks in the rows to line up; I want them to be off a bit. The rows are 36 inches long. From left to right row 1 measures 9 inches wide. Row 2 is 8 inches wide. Row 3 is 9 ½ inches wide. Row 4 is 9 ½ inches wide.
The next step is to sew the rows together and trim up the background. My background measured 34 ½ x 35 ½ without borders.
This photo illustrates the next step. I auditioned several different fabrics for border options and chose these.
I cut my first border strips 2 inches. I cut 8 of them and sewed them on. Next I cut 5 4 1/2 “strips for my outside border. I sewed the borders on before beginning the appliqués. My project now measures 45 ½ x 46 ½.
My next step is to begin the appliqué process. I asked my daughter Heidi to draw out some flower shapes. I selected several different flower shapes and then enlarged them. My enlargement percentages were 200%, 270% and 300%. You could choose whatever size you like. I just thought with the size of my background pieces that my flowers needed to be large enough to not get lost in the background. The flower templates are at the end of the tutorial.
Before cutting them out of fabric, I traced them onto paper and placed them on my background experimenting with the amount and sizing until I came up with a pleasing arrangement. Keep in mind that there would be buttons and crocheted flowers as additional embellishments.
Next I choose the fabrics I would use for my flowers.
Then I folded the fabric and pinned it over the flower shape so I could audition the color placement until I liked the arrangement before cutting out my shapes like this.
Now I am ready to begin the appliqué process. I used Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 fusible web to help adhere the flowers before sewing them. The directions on the package are very basic and simple to follow. Begin by choosing your flower shape and tracing the shape onto the fusible web like this. Then I cut out the middle of the web so that only about ¼” will stick to the inside of the flower. This way the flower shape will be soft in the center. Then iron this piece onto the wrong side of your fabric like this:
Then I cut on the solid line so that I have my flower shape with just a small amount of the fusible web around the outside edge like this.
Now you can see the different flowers set on your background. Make sure the arrangement is pleasing to you before using the iron to set them in place. This is how my wall hanging now looks.
Next I ironed each flower down to fuse the web. Then I stitched around the outside edge to further secure the flower to the wall hanging.
So I decided upon a stitch to use around each flower. I ironed one flower at a time and stitched it down beforemoving onto the next flower.
This is what each flower looks like after I have stitched it down. I like the raw edge affect, so that is why I have stitched about ¼ inch in.
I used a variegated thread since my flowers are different colors.
Now all of the flowers are sewn down. My next step is to prepare the backing fabric and sandwich my top with batting and back fabric to begin the quilting process.
I used curvy lines done with the walking foot in the center of the wall hanging. I stopped and started around the flowers wherever needed. I then did stitch in the ditch around both sides of the aqua border. In the larger border, I did a free motion meandering stitch. Then I did a free motion quilting around each flower to make them stand out a bit more. This is how parts of the project look after quilting. I used a variegated pastel colored thread for the wavy lines and then a crème sulky for around the flowers and the free motion quilting.
This is what the backside of my project looks like.
Next I trimmed my piece and added binding. I cut 5 2 ½ “strips and sewed them into one long strip. After sewing the binding down by hand, I am ready to select buttons and crocheted flowers for each of my flower centers. These are the selections I made.
I decided to use DMC floss to sew the buttons on with. I chose #746 – a nice soft yellow – I also decided to use the full thickness so you could see the thread from a distance. Because I wanted a dimensional effect, I left little tales hanging. I sewed from the top, down through the wall hanging and back up. I then tied several knots and clipped the threads to my desired length. It looked like this.
I went around and did the same for each flower. Now my wall hanging is finished! Here is my finished project. I hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial and maybe even learned something new along the way. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me! Remember every day is a great day to be creative!
Click here for a PDF version of my project.
