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| Template requires 18 pages! |
AKA reason number one this project (a free PDF from AGF Studios) was originally on my "I like it, but I'll never make it" list.
But then the pandemic happened and I vowed to take on at least one project that I never would have made, as an apropos response to the upside down lives that we're now leading.
Therefore, armed with 18 pieces of scrap paper, I printed out the leaf template and lined them up on the floor. It's a bit of a puzzle since they don't actually tell you how to place them in rows, but it's easily solved. Then I stepped back — waaay back — and considered further before doing anything further.
You see how some of the numbers are printed outside of the actual pattern template? I took a moment to put them back "inside" before cutting.
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| If you look at page 8, you'll agree that this is not your normal sewing template... |
Since the template is a leaf, there are some oddly shaped areas that could be easily mixed up, so I'd advise taking this one page at a time when it comes to cutting and taping.
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| Leave a border along one edge to facilitate taping... |
Instead of cutting right to the edge of the markings on each template piece, I left a border on the right side (and along the bottom where applicable) so that all of the pieces can overlap a bit, making it easier to line up and tape together.
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| That's one big leaf! |
Here's my final template, all taped up and ready for fabric. Well, not quite.
Reason number two for my initial hesitation to make this project was the ridiculous way in which we are advised to lay out our fabric for cutting. The following graphic is from the PDF for this project.
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| A whole lot of wasting going on! |
The instruction to use fifteen 5.5" wide strips sewn together in WOF (width of fabric) lengths to accommodate the above cut was utter nonsense to me, in terms of the amount of wasted fabric that would result. So, my plan was to draw lines on the template itself to simulate the fabric strips and then estimate what lengths I would need.
And lucky you, I'm here to share my method, such as it is! ;-)
I cut several 5" wide strips of packing paper and laid them down in the prescribed manner to approximate how the fabric would look sewn together. (It helps to draw a vertical line from the tip of the leaf to the bottom and try to center the "v" intersection of the strips on top of it.) I was soon able to section out the whole thing — marked as strips A through O — more or less. The only problem I ran into was on the bottom left; I didn't technically have room for another strip on my template even though it was called for in the pattern.
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| Colour-coded and divied up... |
Using the original layout guide as a reference, I also marked out how the four fabrics should be allocated. Those are indicated by my magenta, blue, green and orange scribbles.
Next, I measured how long each strip needed to be, since I wasn't going to be doing the whole "WOF" thing. Per my lines, the longest strip needed is 26".
At this point, I stopped for a few days, pondering my fabric choices. I don't have a lot of yardage in my stash (to achieve the longer lengths required), and the four selections also needed to coordinate in some way. After some false starts, it finally seemed obvious to use the DECOdent bundle that I purchased from Craftsy a couple of years ago. Its neutral tones combined with gold seemed entirely suited for this kind of project.
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| Sorry about the lighting in this photo... could not get a full shot without sun that day! |
To start the strip piecing process, I cut the top four and sewed them together. This was then laid down on the template to act as a guide for the subsequent strips.
My method was to cut a strip, sew it to the existing assembly, lay the whole thing down onto the template to verify placement, re-measure the length of the next strip and repeat.
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| My pieced fabric fully covers the template... and I didn't need to use any WOF strips! |
Cutting was where I made a bit of a boo-boo. I remembered wrong and cut my strips 5" wide instead of 5.5". (The 5" measurement likely got stuck in my brain because I cut my paper strips 5" wide, but that was because they were meant to simulate strips that were sewn together with 1/4" seam allowances on both sides. Good on the math, bad on the memory.) No biggie, though, and I still didn't need any more than the prescribed fifteen strips.
And this is what it looks like after cutting around the template. I'm pleased with it so far.
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| It took time, but here we finally are... |
Doing just this part of the project was time-consuming, but I found that where I may have been impatient had I been doing this during the "before times" (ha, ha), I was quite content to be slow and methodical. Might an actual shift towards slowing down and smelling the roses be an unexpected outcome of our current situation? Wouldn't that be something? (Hoping for too much? Probably.)
I'll be back with part two of this project in the near future. Have to decide if I also want to make the back in some sort of patchwork or if I just want to keep it plain.
A reminder for those who plan on finishing this before me: the leaf is not symmetrical, so when you cut the back side, place your fabric right side down on top of the template or turn the template over.
'Til next...
Good job! Whenever I get to the placemats that I will be doing, I plan on tracing the leaf pattern onto the fabric. The pattern didn't show a seam allowance like the rug does, and I don't want the placemat to turn out smaller than the size of the pattern. Then I'll just put the front and back right sides together and stitch on my traced line, leaving an opening for turning, and then cut a quarter inch around the stitched line. At least that's my plan!
ReplyDeleteKathleen - kakingsbury at verizon dot net
Thank you ever sew much for sharing this design. It is absolutely perfect for my newly renovated living room! I am going to make two of these large size leafs, and a few of the similar small ones. my patterns are all glued together, and I've been playing with color placement. I am using green batiks.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your project information and thinking process. Even in these crazy times, I give you props for attempting such a pattern. I feel your fabric challenge since I am not a quilter so my stash is nearly non existent. Keep up the creative project posts.
ReplyDeleteNot only am I anxious to know how this one of yours turns out, I'm also dying to see the results of the green batiks by Barefoot Thunder. Like KrisHulet, I don't have much of a stash but I plan, in the next few weeks, to lay out what I have and see how (or if) it comes today. I love a project!
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