An art quilt pattern for a dress form built entirely from fused fabric collage, finished at about 20 x 60 inches. On the cover sample, the form's torso is packed shoulder to hip with fussy cut flowers in every color and scale, a rose or two catching the eye the way a brooch would, while the wire cage below is drawn in stitching, the stand is cut from black prints, and garlands of blooms climb the corners of a cream script and sewing print background. Those fabrics were one set of choices. The pattern provides the form's shape and the process; every fabric decision belongs to the maker, so each finished Perfect Form is distinctive and one of a kind.

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 the full sized pattern, so there is no enlarging at the copy shop, plus complete step by step instructions in color.

Here's How it Works

Trace the design from the full sized pattern onto a sheer foundation, then build the form right on top of your tracing. Back your motif fabrics with Steam a Seam 2, which stays repositionable until it is pressed, so you can place each fussy cut flower, step back, and move it until it sits right. Fill the torso first with low contrast underlay pieces so no gaps show through, then layer flowers over them until the surface reads as one continuous garden. A dab of Fabric Fuse glue holds any piece that wants to wander, and a pressing sheet keeps the sticky web off your iron. When you're happy with the whole form, one final press fuses everything permanently. The wire cage is machine stitched in heavy black thread, the pieced background goes together from six fabrics, and then you sandwich, quilt closely to secure the raw edges, and bind.

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 six background fabrics (19 inches of background 1, 1/3 yard of fabric 2, 10 inches of fabric 3, 8 inches of fabric 4, 10 inches of fabric 5, and 13 inches of fabric 6), bits of as many floral fabrics in as many colors as you can get your hands on (all colors and scales; fat eighths and fat quarters work well), 1/4 yard of binding fabric, a 34 x 27 piece of cotton voile or Pattern Ease for the foundation, 5 yards of 24 inch wide fusible (the pattern names Steam a Seam 2), Fabric Fuse glue, freezer paper, 67 inches of directional backing fabric, batting, an applique pressing sheet, black Sulky 12 weight thread for the machine embroidered wire cage, and threads for quilting.

Four packages of Steam a Seam 2 Double Stick Fusible Web 12in x 3yds cover the 5 yard by 24 inch call-out; the narrower width simply butts edge to edge on the back of larger pieces. The Laura Heine Collage Mat set and Sew Tites Magnetic Flowers are optional and make the process easier: the mat gives the layering a portable, iron safe surface, the magnets hold the pattern and mat in place, and the mat set includes both the silicone mat and a teflon pressing sheet, which covers the applique pressing sheet on the supply list. Without the mat set, a separate applique pressing sheet is needed.

Perfect For

• The narrow wall beside a sewing room door (60 inches tall, only 20 wide)
• Dressmakers, pattern drafters, and vintage notion collectors
• Using every scale of floral, from tiny calico to cabbage rose
• A dramatic vertical piece for an entry or stairwell

Why You'll Love This Pattern

Collage is forgiving in ways patchwork cannot be. Nothing has to line up, no points need to match, and small imperfections disappear into the density of the design. There is no needle turn and no blanket stitch. The work is closer to arranging a bouquet than to sewing a seam.

The stitched wire cage is the detail that makes this one: heavy black thread drawn by machine under the flowered torso, so the finished quilt mixes drawing and collage in a single figure.

Product Details

• Brand: Fiberworks
• Item #: LHFWPF
• Designer: Laura Heine
• Category: Quilting Pattern
• Skill Level: All levels (no collage experience assumed)
• Technique: Fused Fabric Collage (raw edge fusible applique)
• Finished Size: about 20" x 60" wall hanging
• Format: Printed Paper Pattern
• Made in the United States