How Did You Do That?

How did you make those branches? On a wall hanging that I posted recently there was a question about how the branches were made dimensional. It is a very simple technique. I cut brown toned batik into bias strips. Length really doesn’t matter because you can join as you wish to make the branch your own. Holding each end twist the strip as tight as you want it to be for the diameter of the branch (kind of like twisting your hair with your finger). You can see in the close up here that a more loosely twisted wrap gives a larger diameter. I used a zig zag to secure the branch but have also used other decorative stitches as the situation dictated. For thinner branches a heavy weight decorative thread was used in a simple stem stitch.

The flower was a circle folded in quarters, basted along the curved edge to form one petal. Without cutting the thread additional circles are attached to add as many petals as desired. After 5-7 petals are on the thread pull up the thread to gather the petals into a circle or flower shape. For a different texture and color variation I used an ombre tulle. Because I used tulle I took several stitches on top of each other to secure the beginning leaving a tail for tying a knot when ready to gather the petals into a flower. After adding as many folded circles as desired pull the thread tight to form a circle, knot to secure, and add a button or yo-yo center. My initial circle was about 3 ½”—I used a glass for a pattern.

I really love the look of the tulle and will be making more of those for a garden scene.