Years ago I raw-edge appliqued a sweatshirt with colorful leaves. The sweatshirt is now well worn and most of the leaves are falling off. It's heading for the recycle bin one of these days.
I happened to mention to my mom I might attempt to re-make the sweatshirt. She said she'd love one. I started on the leaves while she found a sweatshirt her size (you can see the original sweatshirt and my first leaves here.)
The new leaves are slightly larger than my original design. When I first pinned on the new leaves onto my mother's petite sweatshirt, they dominated the entire sweatshirt. The colors popped but it was overwhelming!
I redesigned the layout several times before I found something I liked. I removed most of the leaves then cut and prepped some new ones. Most of the leaves are around the yolk and spill down the front and the back.
What a difference background makes! The colors against the black show up much more than against the blue. I fused them in place, then carefully hand stitched each one around the edges with matching thread. The leaves aren't as detailed as the raw-edge leaves, but I'm happy with the trade-off. This should wear a lot better than my old sweatshirt.
My mother was thrilled to get it at Christmas. It looks great on her and I think it will get a lot of wear.
Sharing with:
Wendy's Quilts and More - Peacock Party
Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I get a Whoop Whoop?
Love the appliqued leaves to your mother's sweatshirt, Sally. So very chic!
ReplyDeleteYour original light blue sweatshirt with leaves is so pretty, but I also like the brown one for your mom. Very Autumn looking! I bet she'll get a lot of use out of it, too!
ReplyDelete