An art quilt pattern with three sewing room miniatures in fused fabric collage: a tomato pincushion, a dress form, and a vintage sewing machine, each finishing at 16 x 20 inches. On the cover samples, the pincushion bristles with flower topped pins under a threaded needle, the dress form blooms in pinks and oranges above its stitched wire stand, and the little black machine sews a spill of flowers, all on light script and text print backgrounds. The three designs are teeny tiny reductions of Laura Heine's original full sized collage patterns, sized so scraps can carry an entire quilt. Those fabrics were one set of choices. The patterns provide the shapes and the process; every fabric decision belongs to the maker, so each finished set 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 all three designs full sized, so there is no enlarging at the copy shop, plus general collage directions with step by step color photos.

Here's How it Works

Trace each design from the full sized pattern, then build the figure directly on your applique pressing sheet (their small size makes that the easiest work surface, and the pattern walks you through it). Back your fabrics with Steam a Seam 2, which stays repositionable until it is pressed, so you can place each fussy cut motif, step back, and move it until it sits right. Keep your motifs small so they stay in proportion to the 16 x 20 format. One final press fuses each figure permanently; then it moves to its background, and you sandwich, quilt closely to secure the raw edges, and finish. The pincushion's thread and the dress form's wire cage are drawn in with black machine stitching at the end.

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 keeps it simple: these quilts are small enough that no fabric yardages are given, and a good selection of scraps covers backgrounds, cuttables, and underlays. Per design it calls for a 19 x 23 piece of Pattern Ease foundation, 3 yards of 12 inch wide Steam a Seam 2, a number 2 pencil, Karen K Buckley medium fine point scissors, a 17 x 24 pressing sheet or fusing mat (not smaller), a small rotary cutter, mat, and ruler, 2/3 yard of backing fabric, black 40 weight thread for the stitched thread and wire cage details, and binding, a frame, or a 16 x 20 stretcher canvas for finishing.

Each design's fusible call-out is exactly one package of Steam a Seam 2 Double Stick Fusible Web 12in x 3yds. The Laura Heine Collage Mat set covers the 17 x 24 mat or pressing sheet on the supply list (it includes both the silicone mat and a teflon pressing sheet), and Sew Tites Magnetic Flowers are an optional extra that holds the pattern and mat in place while you work.

Perfect For

• Sewing room walls, one design or all three in a row
• An afternoon scale introduction to collage, no yardage shopping required
• Finally using the scrap bin's tiniest treasures
• Gifts that frame up in a standard 16 x 20

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.

Three designs in one pattern means three tries at the technique from a single purchase, and the 16 x 20 finish drops straight into an off the shelf frame or stretcher canvas.

Product Details

• Brand: Fiberworks
• Item #: LHFWTT5
• Designer: Laura Heine
• Category: Quilting Pattern
• Skill Level: All levels (no collage experience assumed)
• Technique: Fused Fabric Collage (raw edge fusible applique)
• Designs: Pincushion, Dress Form, and Sewing Machine
• Finished Size: 16" x 20" each
• Format: Printed Paper Pattern
• Made in the United States