This small art quilt is fused applique using chiffon, an applique technique I learned from Esterita Austin.
Using a line drawing of an iris, I pinned a piece of white organza over the top of the drawing. Organza, like chiffon, is very transparent so the drawing is easy to see.
Starting with the petal at the back, I began layering and ironing small pieces of chiffon that had been backed with Steam-a-Seam 2 on to the organza base fabric. Working from a photo of the iris, I chose colors to represent the light and dark highlights and shadows. Layering a piece of orange chiffon over the first layer of yellow chiffon produced a lovely peach shade. I auditioned different colors over each other to find some interesting shades. Obviously, I took some artistic license with my color choices, but that was part of the fun.
After working back to front, and feeling satisfied with the piece (know when to quit is a challenge!), I cut out the flower fused to the organza, and fused the organza to a piece of white cotton fabric. I covered the whole quilt top with fine tulle to keep those hundreds of tiny chiffon pieces in place. I then thread-painted some detail lines on the chiffon/organza applique through all layers.
Some simple diagonal quilting lines were added to secure the layers of the quilt, and it was finished with a facing.
I love the “watercolor” look achieved with this technique. Now that I have experimented, I am looking forward to doing a larger, multi-subject piece.
Until next time, Joan.