Kawandi is a style of quilt created by the Siddi people of India, traditionally done by hand. It is truly scrappy and improvisational. While I like doing hand work, I was also intrigued by faster machine methods. I've listed some resources at the end of this tutorial if you are interested in creating Kawandi by hand, want to see another machine tutorial, want to see some footage of Siddi creating Kawandi by hand, and a discussion of creating Kawandi in your own style. This tutorial describes a new way of creating Kawandi by machine. These are NOT traditional Kawandi, but inspired by the joy and movement of Kawandi-style. I started with a background piece of fabric approximately 8x10", a piece of batting of the same size, and many scraps of batiks or quilting cottons. 1) Place the background over the batting, right side up (this is a quilt as you go technique, so the batting is incorporated from the beginning. 2) Place 4 scraps in the corners, right side DOWN - NOTE I'm using batiks in these examples, so its hard to tell that these pieces are upside down. In this image, you are looking at what will be the WRONG side of those scrap corners. 3) Begin UNDERLAPPING adjoining scraps into the corners. Fold approximately 1/4 inch on the side that will go UNDER the corner. Again, the scraps are placed upside down. Pin the piece in place along the edge. This will be machine sewn. 4) When you get to the next corner, fold the 1/4 inch on both sides of the scrap because it will go under 2 pieces of fabric. 5) Continue folding and underlapping scraps, pinning along the outer edge until you get the entire edge filled. Notice that it doesn't matter if you use short scraps, or long scraps. And again, its impossible to tell from this image because I'm using batiks, but you are looking at the right side of the background, and the WRONG side of the colorful scraps. 6) Sew 1/4 in seam all the way around the edge, removing pins as you come to them. 7) Clip the 4 corners close to the seam, being careful not to cut the thread. 8) Turn right side out by flipping each scrap over the seam. Use a tool to poke out or pull out the corners. There should be no raw edges of fabric along the edge of the piece because they are either in the seam OR they are folded under. 9) Carefully press the outer edge - taking care not to press the batting, as it might melt depending on fiber content. 10) The result is a piece with finished edges like this: 11) Top stitch close to the edge, This will secure all the folded under edges of each scrap. 12) When you are on the 4th side, approaching the beginning of your stitch line, turn the corner about 1/4" or 3/8" before you get there, to start the 'spiral' of stitching. The next steps are done just like Kawandi by hand, but you continue sewing on the machine. 13) To place the next piece, fold under 2 edges. Finger press or iron as necessary. Overlap the unfinished edges of previous scraps. 14) to place a color into a long strip, fold under 3 edges, staying aware of where you will place another scrap to overlap. 15) To keep a small scrap straight as you sew over the edge, it may be necessary to use long tweezers or stiletto. 16) Continue placing scraps and sewing in concentric rectangles, into the center. Note: this picture is from another project than the ones above. 17) Prepare the final scrap by folding under all 4 sides, and sewing the ever smaller rectangles/squares of stitching. 18) For the piece made of batiks, I decided the center "squares" looked better on the diagonal. Although not traditional at all, I've already broken so many 'rules', that I just decided to make this mine. Also, I'm aware that traditional Kawandi have 'folded flowers' in the 4 corners. Include them if you wish. Make it yours! Paula RESOURCES: How to make a Kawandi by hand by Kieren Dutcher https://youtu.be/yFd0xEfKeto How to make a Kawandi by machine (with binding) by Mel Beach https://pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com/2019/03/modern-kawandi-making.html Margaret Fabrizio travels to India to learn Kawandi from Siddi quilters: https://youtu.be/WqdIswL96q4 Margaret Fabrizio shows her own Kawandi quilts, and talks about making them in her own style. https://youtu.be/4NRxqOqp_UA
“Flowers Of The Cosmos” by Fumiko Nakayama Let me just say right up front that this quilt show exceeded expectations in every way. Something I really love about Japan is …
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In May 2011 my wonderfully creative mother died at the age of 85. Her death was unexpected but not surprising - nonetheless, it still left a void in my sewing spirit. Several trips, alone, driving back and forth between Michigan and New York gave me a lot of time to process and think. When I returned from the funeral, I also returned to my empty sewing studio. The only problem was that I was not ready to be around a lot of people. I wanted to play. I didn't want to work. I put things on hold and did the bare minimum of business-related tasks. For a while, I mustered up the energy to cut a bunch of quilt blocks, then I decided it was time to laugh. I had ordered a copy of Amy Bradley's Quilters Yearbook and loved the funny caricatures but had never got around to doing anything with it. So I got out the book and started working on moi. I took some liberties with the pattern and directions - OK, I didn't quite fit the templates provided in the book! I had to cut some hair! Plus, I wanted it to be more "pop-arty" and highlighted with free-motion stitching and thread painting. I also wanted to wrap it around an artist canvas rather than bind it. I picked my two favorite colors and got to work, editing and trimming along the way. I laid it out and started fusing. I was totally making it up as I went. I really had no plan. I just cut and cut...and fused. Once I was happy, I accented the design with thread. And added some eyebrows! Then I started working on my mom's caricature. Trademark turtleneck, necklace, big glasses, and monochromatic ...that's my mom...everything matched. When I posted this picture on Facebook, my brother commented, "I knew exactly who that was!" So it's rather appropriate that the necklace I have from my mom's extensive collection is the exact one shown on the portrait! This now hangs in my office at work and reminds me to find my quiet creative spirit!
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Orange Peel quilt pattern and tutorial using big stitch hand quilting with perle cotton. Fabric is from the Canyon collection by Kate Spain.
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There's an imminent new arrival in our extended family, so it's time for me to get working on another version of my baby beach scenes. Simon suggested I incorporate surfing since the father is a keen surfer. That was the starting point for my designing, anyway. I ended up with this row of (potentially surfable?!) waves which will go across the top of the reef/water section, and I started by piecing them. I divided the waves into organic shapes, much like those I used in the much larger Australian scene and space quilts, which I could then piece from different colour water fabrics. The first step was to trace these onto mid-weight non-woven interfacing and mark some registration points along the curved seams to help piece thems evenly, then cut the pieces apart. After carefully selecting the fabrics to use for each piece (colour, and a smooth gradation was the main consideration)I placed the interfacing patter piece directly on the fabric and drew around it with a air-erasable marker, adding the 1/4in seam allowance by eye as I went. I then added the registration marks and the piece number with a fine-tip permanent pen before cutting it out. I've saved all the interfacing pieces in case I want to do the waves again. Then I pinned all the pieces in place on my pattern and checked I was happy with my fabric choices. Then it was just a case of gradually sewing them all together, carefully easing the curves. The wave section is all done now and will be pieced to the top of the reef/water section once that's done (the bottom is straight-ish).
I've had the chance to review the book Free Motion Quilting for Beginners (and those who think they can't), by Molly Hanson. I love that title! I'm a big proponent of quilting your own quilts, as you know, and I've read a lot of books about free motion quilting. I like how everyone presents the information in their own personal way....there is always more to learn! This book presents all the practical information you need to get started. More importantly, it gives you the confidence to jump in and give free motion quilting a try. There are 15 projects in the book that encourage you to start small and increase your comfort level with free motion quilting before you tackle something larger, like a quilt. What I love most about this book is Molly's tone of encouragement throughout the text and the projects. She is great at guiding you though the entire process! I've done a lot of free motion quilting and I love how relaxing it can be. I also know how easy it can be to get in a rut. I challenged myself to get out of my box, so to speak and try some new-to-me, designs. I gave this squared off stippling pattern a try and it went pretty well! I had to slow down and think about where I was going from time to time, but it was fun! I could see doing this all over a whole quilt. I also quilted a few swatches of different designs and I turned them into a set of coasters. Binding them was a little fiddly, but totally worth it! (I can say that now that they are done. Ha!) These are great because I not only used scraps of fabric, but scraps of batting as well. Hurray! I'm happy to count these as scrap project #94/101. If you would like the chance to win an e-book copy of Free Motion Quilting for Beginners, please leave me a comment in this post. In your comment, I'd love to hear what your favorite go-to FMQ pattern is. Or, if you are new to FMQ, I'd like to hear what pattern you would like to master. I will pick winner in a few days!
The quilt-along starts Saturday 30th September- see below for more details! When I first started quilting back in 2019, it was via a lot of hacked together Youtube videos. But quilting brings me SO much joy that I want as many people to do it as possible, hence why I pulled together my free Quil
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