Creating Silk Art Quilts
Posted by Laura Wasilowski on May 2nd 2024
Do you suffer from a fear of using silk fabrics also known as silkaphobia? For years I thought silk was too precious, too delicate, and too finicky to work with. Plus the cost of silk yardage kept me from experimenting with the fiber. But through lots of fabric therapy, I’ve overcome my concerns and now revel in creating artwork with silk fabrics. And you can too!
In my online class, Creating Silk Art Quilts as part of the Layered & Stitched: An Art Quilt Experience, I’ll show you how to work with silk to make lovely pieces of artwork. You’ll learn what types of silks to use like these over dyed and upcycled fabrics (including my husband's tie). And you’ll learn why there are certain types of silk to avoid.
Can’t find the right color of silk for your design? Why not paint your silk? Several brands of textile paint keep the fabric soft and pliable after they are painted. You’ll see a quick demo on how to paint the silk sky for Fine Line Tree #12 above using these water-based textile paints.
One trick when working with slippery silk is to apply a fusible web like MistyFuse™ to the fabric. MistyFuse™ is a lightweight fusible web that doesn’t change the color of the silk or make it stiff. As it holds fabric shapes in place you’ll find that this fusible web is also easy to hand-stitch through.
Applying fusible web tames the squirrely nature of lightweight silk and gives it bulk so it is easier to handle. But it also helps you transfer pattern shapes to your fabric. I’ll show you this swift pattern transfer technique for the Fine Line Tree pattern included with your class Resource pages. Be sure to keep your iron handy to learn another tip: steam setting the quilt top to wool batting to prepare it for stitching.
In the final lesson of Creating Silk Art Quilts, we’ll discuss hand-embroidery threads and needles. I’ll demonstrate step-by-step 7 hand-embroidery stitches to decorate the Fine Line Tree quilt. And I’ll show you a gallery of silk art quilts for encouragement.
Included with the class are handy Resource pages for you to download. The Resource pages include where to purchase silk and fabric paint, the Fine Line Tree pattern, and directions for making a pillowcase binding for your artwork.
It is time to overcome your silkaphobia and discover the joy of working with silk fabrics. Join my Creating Silk Art Quilts class at theLayered and Stitched event and make a glowing piece of artwork!
Click here to learn more about Layered and Stitched: An Art Quilt Experience and receive $20 off your enrollment using my code "Art24Laura" at checkout.
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Laura Wasilowski’s method of free-form embroidery combines the warm, familiar art of hand embroidery with the heady thrill of improvisation. Her passion is transforming fabric from a flat, plain surface into a world packed with color, texture, and pattern. Having the skill and patience to stab something over a million times, she continues to invent new ways to mark fabric with the stitch and hopes to inspire others to do the same. Laura is a Creative Spark Instructor with ten online courses on art quilting, hand embroidery, and appliqué elements.
