ECO-PRINTING ON WOOL

It's a magical time when a stack of eco-printed materials comes out of the processing pot....but then you are left to wonder, what the heck do you do with these little pieces?

 In this case, I printed leaves on small scraps of wool that had been previously ice-dyed.  Their measurements were in the vicinity of 5" x 7".  They started out originally as white, good quality dress-weight wool, and therefore didn't felt well.  That also meant they were flimsy, requiring a stabilizing method.  I chose to back them with Wonder-Under, which is still my go-to paper backed iron on adhesive.

 Once trimmed, they were carefully positioned onto a larger piece of National Nonwoven's Woolfelt and fused.

 A ridiculous amount of time was spent auditioning various colors, shapes, sizes of Woolfelt to outline the eco-printed pieces.  In the end I decided upon a very simple outline to avoid detracting from the 3 focus prints.

Once in place the narrow sashing was still bolder than I wished....so I dithered away even more time embroidering several different patterns using black thread to tone it down.  I 'thought' I liked the French Knots (top print) until I completed  that one entire area.  It got removed!  Instead a simple straight stitch was sewn through the center of each pinkish line....toning down their impact.

As frequent readers know, I'm not a free-motion quilter.....though it's a skill I really should conquer and would if I enjoyed machine work more than I do.  
Drawing is not in my toolbox either....but with enough time, pencil, eraser and tracing paper, I came up with a leaf/vine pattern to fill in the blank areas.  Fortunately, this piece was small enough that the constant turning during the stitching was easily done....it just takes more time!!

This is sounding like a "I can't do" confession....but I hope sharing the process I encountered on this and other projects will encourage others to find ways to accomplish their end goals, even if they don't currently have all the skills necessary. 

By clicking on the photo to enlarge, you will see white chalk lines indicating the outside edge.  The piece will be stay stitched right near that line, edges trimmed, and hand embroidery will finish the outside edge.

Please check back for my next post to view the finished piece.