As this quarter wraps up, there are more and more projects to do and less time to be creative and have fun--but I found a way. I had to do a "creative element" (yes, very open-ended) as part of a final, so I whipped out my muslin and my crayons and my needle and came up with this funny little pillow:
There is some contrived deep meaning in this about gender, but I made it up in about fifteen seconds.
This technique is something that my great-grandmother did--I don't know how well-known it is, so I've prepared a little tutorial to walk curious people through the process. It just goes to show, you never outgrow crayons!
You Will Need:
-Muslin or other solid cotton fabric
-Freezer paper
-Crayons
-Hard surface
-Iron
-Cutting supplies (rotary cutter, mat, scissors, etc.)
-Thread, needle, stuffing--any supplies you need for your project.
Once again, I apologize for my lack of an available camera that takes high-quality pictures. We will have to make do.
Start by cutting a piece of fabric a little bigger than you need for your project. I'm making a coin purse out of this one.
Next, cut a piece of freezer paper the same size as your fabric (if you have to choose one, have the fabric be bigger as opposed to the freezer paper.) Set the iron to cotton and iron the muslin to the freezer paper, with the shiny plastic side in the middle. The freezer paper will stick to the fabric and make it more stiff.
Now the fun part--color on the paper with crayons in whatever design or lack thereof you choose. The heavier you color, the better, and direction will have an impact on the finished product.
Bring out the iron again--this time set it a setting or two lower and turn off the steam. Cover the top of your crayon-colored fabric in printer paper and go over it with the iron for a while. Some of the crayon wax will transfer over to the printer paper. The point is to melt the wax into the fabric and remove excess.
Take off the printer paper and freezer paper, use your rotary cutter to square everything off, et voila!
A new piece of fabric just waiting to be sewn into something marvelous.
Keep in mind this fabric will be stiffer than normal. Also, you don't have to color in the whole piece--that's just what I felt like doing.
Have a great week!
Blessings,
Hannah =)
