August Tart Kit: Sheer Sensation

Our lesson this month comes to us courtesy of Peggy Holt. Her use of sheer fabric over silk flowers and colorful threads was featured in a past issue of Quilting Arts magazine. We have designed our kit to make use of her techniques. The above quilt was made by Peggy.

You will begin by layering a muslin backing, piece of batting, and a colorful background. We have included our hand-dyed cottons for this purpose. You may construct a background by stitching or by collaging the cotton. This background piece should be centered on the batting with a couple of inches margin. Lay the piece of organza over the top and baste at the top edge.

Pull back the organza to reveal the background. Lay the silk flowers and threads in a pleasing arrangement. You may want to spray baste these items to hold them in place.

Pull the organza down over the silk flowers. The organza will be a few inches larger than the background.

Quilt around the silk flowers and add decorative stitching. As you quilt the piece, the extra organza will pleat and fold. By stitching around the silk flowers, they will become more visible under the organza.

When you are finished quilting, you may bind this small piece or incorporate it into a large compostion. Try experimenting with other brightly colored backgrounds, silk leaves, and other colors of organza. This last quilt is another example of Peggy's use of a sheer fabric over silk flowers.