Again I sing the praises of Stitch Club. This week I learnt how to sculpt with textiles through an online tutorial with Clarissa Callesen, sculptor, installation artist and instructor. After watching the video on the TextileArtist.org Stitch Club site, I took a deep breath, pulled out a bag of leftover bits of batting and the remains of some fabric from a tree quilt, and started stuffing shapes.
To my delight and surprise I managed to create a 3D object that resembles a tree. Clarissa Callesen makes astounding abstract textile sculptures, but I decided to stick to my comfort zone and to try and follow the lines of a tree. First I rolled strips of batting into fabric covered ‘sausages’ and stitched them closed. Wrapping the thread around the cylinder is also an option. Then I made some ‘potato’ shapes by stitching around the edge of a round shape, stuffing it, and then gathering the stitching to close the shape. These round shapes ended up being useful as ballast in getting the tree trunk to stand upright. The tutorial was not only inspiring but also had practical demonstrations on how to manipulate the fabric and stuffing into usable shapes.
In progress photographs of the tree construction. (At last I have found a use for these fancy clips.)
The tree roots and trunk were stitched together and then the branches were added. I wound some thin copper wire around some of the branches and the base of the trunk, for a bit of interest and also stability. Finally I draped a chain of leaves over the branches for fun. I have not yet sewn them down and may remove them. Now I think I might try to make a forest!
Before making the tree I had had quite a bit of practice in stuffing shapes. Here are some pincushions, pieced from batik scraps and then stuffed.
I was inspired to make these after seeing gorgeous scrap pincushions on Wendy Tuma’s blog called piecefulthoughts. She often makes them as gifts and posts photographs. Then, when I read a recent post called Scrappy Batiks I took the inspiration to my sewing machine and started piecing a pile of batik scraps that had fallen into my lap, as it were.
This leads me to the final installment of my stuffing adventures. I have been making draught excluders for the TRADE at Home local virtual market. Because we have just been through the windy season in Grahamstown, I had sold out and needed to make more for this month’s market. I had run out of fabric scraps to stuff the draught excluders. My quilting friends kindly donated their offcuts and one of the bags contained a treasure trove of batik squares which I could not consign to the dark depths. Hence the pincushions.
The wind has died down (thanks be) and I have a set of draught excluders in stock if anyone in the area wants to purchase one.
The tree is lovely! And what bright and fun pincushions!
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Thanks Chela for your enthusiastic response 😊
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Your tree is very impressive. Rolling the batting scraps makes sense; it would be a challenge to stuff those little shapes. I really like how it all turned out. I’m enjoying the projects you are making and sharing through Stitch Club. I’m delighted that my pincushions inspired you to make a few, and they are lovely!
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Thanks for liking my tree and for being the muse for the pincushions. Yes it is challenging to stuff small shapes, but it is also strangely addictive
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I love your tree! And if you’re a SciFi fan you can even experiment with the 4th dimension 😀
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Thanks Mary. I’m a bit wary of those unseen dimensions, so will just stick to experimenting with different shaped trees!
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Your gift is bringing life to everything you stitch, Mariss.
BTW: Isn’t it interesting how much more versatile copper metallics are than gold?
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Oh what a huge compliment, Laura. Thank you. And yes, copper thread has more lustre than gold
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That tree works really well and is so clever, and the fabric is great. I also really like those colourful pincushions.
What do you use to stuff the draught excluders? I am wondering if they need to be ‘weighted’ in any way?
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Thanks for all the positive responses Carol. I use small pieces of fabric to stuff the draught excluders. If tamped in tightly they give a surprisingly weighty result. One generates a lot of fabric offcuts when making quilts, and it is satisfying to be able to put the small bits to good use.
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That is interesting thanks, and a good way of using up those scraps of fabric.
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wow! That tree is something! I can’t believe you’ve never done one before-it’s masterful. Looking forward to seeing more!
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Oh thank you Claudia. You inspire me to make that forest 😉
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My Friday delight! Thanks M, your blog never ceases to entertain me.
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Thanks K. Your support continues to amaze me. ❤️
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Love your foray into 3 dimensional creations…
Lord of the Rings popped into my mind!
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Ah yes, the Ents. Thanks for checking in dear Ast
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Love the tree!
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Thanks Cindy
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What you did with fabric was amazing!
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That tree is just brilliant!
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Oh thank you for saying this, Emmely
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Fabric sculpting! Wow! That tree is amazing! Okay I love the word combination: “draught excluders” and glad they are selling out. You are helping people exclude a lot of draughts 🙂
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Thanks for all the exclamations about my foray into fabric sculpting, Tierney. Yes, draught excluder is a strange and cumbersome set of words. A friend of mine calls them draught busters.
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So much good stuff in here! I especially love your tree – it’s heading for autumn here so a tree with a few golden leaves remaining on the branches seems perfectly in tune with the changing season. I’d love to see a forest of these! Also loving the cheerful pincushions and draught excluders – what a great use of scraps!
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Aw thanks for reading and encouraging me to make that forest
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