The usual way of finishing off the edges of an art quilt is to add binding so it won’t ravel. This tradition comes from the days when quilts were meant as bed coverings, and you needed to keep the edges from fraying. Here’s an older quilt of mine where I still was making binding by using a Clover Bias Tape Maker. That’s how the red fabric edging was made by pulling a strip of fabric through the maker. Inside, are rollers that fold the egdes under for you. Quite an ingenious low tech tool . As I was stitching down the binding on the top side, I also inserted some white piping that had a black stripe spirally around it. Even adding that striped piping caused quite a lot of comments when that quilt was exhibited. The fact that the red fabric binding had stars on it, as did the actual quilt itself, helped to tie the body and edge of the quilt together.
With some of my smaller art quilts, (12″ or 30.5cm square and smaller), it’s really hard for me to put on a binding, but soft ribbon will often fold easily over the sides. That’s when I will use a blanket stitch around the edges to secure the ribbon down and also add a decorative element. I then add on lots of embellishments to draw the eye outwards all the way to the outer part of the piece. The piece in this photo had a number of blue plastic circles that came from a child’s construction set. I secured them down with embroidery floss, and even had one extend over the edge to add interest to that corner. There are also a number of gold “toggle” like buttons that I added up one side and also on part of the inside of this small piece. As much as I like buttons of different shapes, they’re often hard to get to lay straight where you want them to. (That’s why most buttons are round). I have resigned myself to the fact that I’m “consistently inconsistent” and hope that the viewer appreciates all of the various design elements that I incorporate into my work and not get too hung up about how straight they are.
Finally, here’s an edging that I’ve used in several of my smaller pieces. There are colored anodized chain maille links out on the craft market for making jewelry. I like to sew them on to the back of a piece, making a scalloped edge. Even though I sew them down on the two sides of the ring, they are a little hard to keep from falling forwards or backwards, thus messing up the straightness of the scalloped line. So, when I’m finished, I put a binding of white ribbon on the back that secures the chain maille circles in a relatively straight and upright line. In this particular piece, since the title was “Words, Words. Words”, and words are usually written in straight, horizontal lines, I also added rows of similar buttons to emphasize that theme.
Today is one day in which my art blog and my healing blog have a similar topic…. “Moving Into Life From the Edges”. Check it out later today.
What are some of your favorite ways to finish off the edges of your art medium? Why not share your ideas so we don’t all have to re-invent the wheel?
Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form below or by clicking on the “comments/no comments link” at the top of the posting, and then share your ideas with the rest of us. We all grow when we share our thoughts and impressions, so why not join our growing community of those who appreciate art quilts and textile arts. We’d love to hear from you!… and PLEASE tell like minded souls about this blog! The more readers and contributors, the more I write because encouragement helps the words flow!
You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com (be patient as it loads; it’s worth it), my spiritual healing work at www.transitionportals.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook (for Transition Portals) Facebook (for Fiber Fantasies), and Twitter.
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