I have this collection of fabrics with a French theme that are begging to be made into something. My thought is to make them into a pieced background, and then add a collage applique. I haven’t yet decided how to cut them up, what size to make the squares, or rectangles, or maybe use a variety of sizes and shapes to make it more interesting.

With all the pink in one of the prints, it seemed logical to select pinks as the collage color for the applique. In watching some videos on how to do this, I learned that one of the first things for beginners is to find a photo of what you want to make. The point was made that the photo must be one copyright free, or one that the artist owns. I have a photo I took of a rose that I wanted to use, so I printed it out and began working on a pattern.

I drew it by tracing onto freezer paper to make templates for cutting fabric. The green fabric was easy to find in the stash.

Parchment paper was put on another freezer paper drawn pattern. Then I arranged the rest of the petal templates on the top to help decide what the colors should be. I marked some lines for dark areas.

A trip to the fabric store was needed to find the shading colors. I was looking for an ombre fabric, but no one had any in red to pink. I did find this, and thought it would work well. It has light and dark areas, and I thought by arranging the templates carefully, I could get the shading I wanted like the photo shows.

Referring to the photo, I placed templates on the fabric.

Originally, I thought to make the rose white. But auditioning what I had wasn’t producing a good result. The white fabrics just stick out. If I make all the petals white, there is no definition.

I tried making more of them white, but that didn’t look good either.

I cut more pink/red, and substituted this in for the larger white pieces. Now the white is just a highlight. But, I lost the definition between some of the petals.

So, the highlight white is replaced with a dark red for shadowing.

The white in the very center now looks out of place, so it got a pink bit.

All these videos make this look so easy, and it is NOT. The hosts just say, put a piece here or there, put a lighter one where your light is reflecting, put a darker one where you have a shadow. I finally found one where the host went into more detail on analyzing your photo for these areas, and drawing a simplified pattern. What I am showing you today took me days to do, playing with light and shadow, cutting and re-cutting petal pieces, making a change then standing back to see if it worked, getting frustrated and setting it aside for a while. From a bit of distance, it is looking better, but I see I still need more shadowing around the petals at the top of the flower to define those petal shapes. At least it is recognizable as a flower, although it doesn’t really read as a rose.

Yesterday, I cut more deep red and added some extra bits between the petals. I will let it marinate for a bit, and decide if I need any more shadowing.

It is a first attempt, so I’m not expecting it to be perfect. I like this technique, and I’ve ordered some Steam A Seam as it will hold with a bit of pressure before pressing it for a more permanent bond. Next is to figure out what to do with the French fabrics and sew the base.

Have you done fabric collage?

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