Exploring Heat-Set Appliqué for Quilting with Grace Errea

Description

Lesson Breakdown:

Lesson 1: Equipment, Supplies, and Basic Pattern Information

• Introduction to the basic equipment
• Overview of the pattern and pattern notations
• Introduce enlargement or pattern options
• Complete the vinyl and freezer paper steps

Lesson 2: What can VALUE do, How to use Value Effectively

• Getting the fabric ready
• Use the freezer paper and the fabrics to create the fabric shapes

Lesson 3: Introduction to the Heat-Set process to create the quilt top

• Show how to apply the product
• Demonstrate how to “Heat-Set” and prepare the shapes
• Build the focal point
• Demonstrate how to change or improve the design
• “Fuse” the focal point

Lesson 4: Create Effective Backgrounds

• Discuss “whole cloth” backgrounds and how to audition different back
• Discuss Randomly Pieced Backgrounds and demo Randomly Appliqued Backgrounds using the “Heat-Set” product

Lesson 5: Finishing Touches

• Create the quilt sandwich
• Discuss the need – or not – of borders and bindings
• Show different borders, bindings, and border-less/binding-less options
• Show quilting options
• Demonstrate adding a hanging sleeve

Supplies:

For the sample quilt you will need small chunks of fabric. Use tone-on-tone 100% cotton fabrics. Batiks are great but they need not be batiks.

Ensure you have access to fabric scraps in many values. From lightest light to darkest darks. Fabric scraps needed for this project are small, palm size pieces. For the whole cloth background and borders you will need approximately 2/3 yard of fabric.

Other Supplies:

• Board – 20″x30″ Insulation Board (usually 1 1/4″ thick). You can get it at Home Depot, Lowe’s or any building supply store. Larger is even better but the smaller will work too.
• Board – 20” x 30” Foam Core (usually ¼” thick). You can get these at a office supply store.
• Brush – soft, “¼” wide and a 1” foam brush
• Freezer paper roll – 18” wide
• Iron and ironing station
• Insulation Board cover – A piece of “Insul-Bright” needled Insulated Lining, the size of your board, for the Insulation Board heat protection (optional).
• Jar or small bottle.Liquid Thread– Product by Beacon Adhesives. Ensure it is the Liquid THREAD product. It comes in 2oz. bottles.
• Paper, lots of scrap paper. Can be newspaper, paper bags or any scrap paper you have. Or paper towels.
• Pens- “Sharpie” black permanent markers Fine point (not Extra Fine), and ballpoint.
• Color pencil – best red or green.
• Pins- ”Extra Thin” Silk Pins 1” (these come with a tiny metal head), also T-pins, Flower-head colored pins
• Pressing Cloth – Teflon type for applique, any size but the larger the better, or NON-STICK Reynolds Aluminum Foil (most supermarket carry it)
• Scissors- fabric and paper
• Stiletto
• Tape – painter’s multiuse or masking
• Toothbrush
• Tweezers – long handled
• Vinyl (2mil)- clear such as a painter’s drop cloth or clear vinyl table covering 2 Mil. Approximately 30″ x 40″. Best is the 2 mil. Painter’s drop cloth as it is thin enough to see through and work with. Can be bought at any hardware or building supply store.

Optional:

Value Matching Tool

Instructor: Grace Errea

In 2005 Grace chose to retire from a very successful career as an executive in a Fortune 500 computer and telecommunications company to devote herself to her art on a full-time basis. Grace is a self-taught artist and her work illustrates and has been recognized for exceptional primary use of value and secondary use of color. Her focus on value makes it easy for her and her students to create inspiring botanicals, landscape scenes and portraits, in any color.

Her quilt construction technique is her newly developed, foolproof, machine appliqué technique that she calls “Heat-Set”. This technique produces a “no-fray raw edge appliqué” that will amaze you!