An art pattern for four fish built from painterly collage strips, each finished as a 14 x 22 inch placemat. On the cover samples, every fish is made from narrow rotary cut strips of small prints laid side by side like brush strokes, shading from light to dark so the bodies shimmer: one in reds, one in blues and purples, one in browns and oranges, one in blues and greens, each with a polka dot eye, swimming across pale grid print backgrounds scattered with confetti rectangles. Those fabrics were one set of choices. The pattern provides the fish and the process; every fabric decision belongs to the maker, and the pattern includes ideas for turning the fish into table runners, wall hangings, and quilts.

What the Pattern Includes

This listing is for the instructions and printed paper pattern. Fabric, fusible web, and notions are not included.

The package contains full sized patterns for 4 fish, so there is no enlarging at the copy shop, plus instructions for finishing them as four 14 x 22 inch placemats and ideas for other projects.

Here's How it Works

Trace each fish from the full sized pattern onto a sheer foundation, then build it right on top of your tracing. Back your strip fabrics with Steam a Seam 2, which stays repositionable until it is pressed, then rotary cut narrow strips and lay them side by side like brush strokes, shading light to dark along the body until the fish reads as one painterly whole. Tuck in fins and a tail, add a polka dot eye, and press to fuse everything permanently. Each fish then gets sandwiched, quilted closely to secure the raw edges, and bound as a placemat. The supply amounts are generous on purpose: enough strips for at least a dozen fish, so a runner or a school for the wall can follow the first four.

New to collage? Laura's Little Book of Collage covers the technique in more depth, from fabric selection through quilting, and makes a good companion to any of her patterns.

What You'll Need

The back cover calls for 1 1/3 yards of 44 inch fabric for the placemat backgrounds, about 60 pieces of fabric at 3 x 11 inches in shades of greens, reds, pinks, oranges, browns, blues, yellows, and purples (enough for at least 12 fish; many different shades matter more than large amounts, since each fish uses only a bit of many fabrics), a scrap of polka dot fabric for the eyes, 1 yard of Pattern Ease, a see through pressing sheet such as the Goddess sheet at 17 3/4 x 24 inches, 6 yards of 12 inch wide Steam a Seam 2, a rotary cutter, mat, and ruler, 1 1/3 yards of backing fabric, batting, and 1/4 yard of binding fabric.

Two packages of Steam a Seam 2 Double Stick Fusible Web 12in x 3yds cover the pattern's fusible requirement exactly. The Laura Heine Collage Mat set covers the see through pressing sheet on the supply list: it includes both the silicone mat, which gives the strip work a portable, iron safe surface, and a teflon pressing sheet. Sew Tites Magnetic Flowers are optional and hold the pattern and mat in place while you work.

Perfect For

• Placemats for a lake house, cabin, or kitchen table
• A gift for someone who loves to fish
• Using up strips and small prints in every color family
• A fast introduction to painterly collage before a larger strip project

Why You'll Love This Pattern

Strip collage is forgiving in ways patchwork cannot be. Nothing has to line up, no points need to match, and the shading hides small wobbles. Each fish finishes in an afternoon, and no two come out alike.

The instructions assume no collage experience, and the supply list covers at least twelve fish, enough for the four placemats and more projects after.

Product Details

• Brand: Fiberworks
• Item #: LHFWMF
• Designer: Laura Heine
• Category: Quilting Pattern
• Skill Level: All levels (no collage experience assumed)
• Technique: Painterly Fused Fabric Collage strips (raw edge fusible applique)
• Finished Size: Four 14" x 22" placemats (runner, wall hanging, and quilt variations described)
• Format: Printed Paper Pattern
• Made in the United States