An art quilt pattern for a stand of sunflowers built entirely from fused fabric collage, finished at about 33 x 42 inches. On the cover sample, big blooms tip in different directions with petals cut from dozens of yellow, orange, and pink prints and centers cut from fabrics that catch attention, a navy dot, a purple floral, a black and white check, over leaves and stems in greens from yellow green to teal, all on a cream background of butterfly and text prints inside a narrow triangle print border. Those fabrics were one set of choices. The pattern provides the flowers' shapes and the process; every fabric decision belongs to the maker, so each finished Sunflowers 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 flowers right on top of your tracing. Back your fabrics with Steam a Seam 2, which stays repositionable until it is pressed, so you can place each piece, step back, and move it until it sits right. Fill each shape first with low contrast underlay pieces so no gaps show through, then layer your cut petals and leaves over them until the surface reads as one continuous design. Each sunflower builds petal by petal within its color family, and the centers are cut from prints bold enough to hold the middle. A pressing sheet keeps the sticky web off your iron. When you're happy with the whole design, one final press fuses everything permanently. Attach the finished collage to your background fabric, layer it with batting and backing, and quilt closely to secure all the raw edges for good.

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 about 1 yard total of cream to very light yellow background prints, 1 yard total of green fabrics for the stems and leaves, from yellow greens to medium dark greens with a few teals, and sunflower fabrics gathered by color family: about 1/2 yard each total of yellows and pinks, about 1/2 yard of oranges, and extra scraps of purples and blues, in cuts running roughly 5 x 11 to 12 x 11 inches. Seven flower center fabrics in small cuts, a dot, a plaid wool, two animal prints, a purple floral, a black and white, and a dark blue, plus four bug cuttables finish the design. The list also calls for a 7 inch by width of fabric border strip, 1/4 yard for single fold binding, about 10 yards of 12 inch wide Steam a Seam 2, 1 yard of Pattern Ease foundation, a 17 x 24 fuse mat, Karen K Buckley medium Perfect Scissors, and a number 2 pencil.

Four packages of Steam a Seam 2 Double Stick Fusible Web 12in x 3yds cover the 10 yard by 12 inch call-out, with two extra yards for generous layering. The Laura Heine Collage Mat set covers the 17 x 24 fuse mat on the supply list (it includes both the silicone mat and a teflon pressing sheet, and gives the layering a portable, iron safe surface), and Sew Tites Magnetic Flowers are an optional extra that holds the pattern and mat in place while you work.

Perfect For

• Floral decorating that works from summer through harvest
• Putting large scale florals and saturated prints to work
• A living room, kitchen, or entry wall at about 33 x 42 inches
• Sunflower lovers with a sunny wall to fill

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.

Petals gather from yellows, pinks, and oranges in a range of values, the mix itself gives the flowers their depth, and overlapping petals mean nothing needs to fit exactly. The pattern puts a whole fabric collection to work rather than a single perfect print.

Product Details

• Brand: Fiberworks
• Item #: FWLHSUNFLOWERS
• 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 33" x 42" wall hanging
• Format: Printed Paper Pattern
• Made in the United States