Tutor: Alison Abrahams

Sunday 21 April 10.30-4.30pm (Note: this workshop is full! If you’d like to hear of future dates, please contact us with your name and email.

Level: confident beginners/intermediate

Alison is our in-store expert at appliqué and custom makes appliqué quilts and cushions for all ages. In this workshop, she’ll teach you how to sew lifelike sea birds on a coastal background, based on one of her own quilt designs. You’ll learn the technique of modern appliqué using a fusible medium, which enables you to create detailed pictorial fabric images. No drawing skills are needed as you’ll be using Alison’s designs!

During the day students will sew a panel which can be finished in your own time at home. The panel can be made into a wall quilt or cushion as you prefer. Alison will also cover how to look at and use printed fabric patterns with an eye for appliqué pictures and how to enhance your appliqué with machine stitching. Machine sewn.

Coastal Appliqué is ideal for students who are competent at machine sewing and who would like to learn the art of appliqué. Please note you will not finish the panel during the workshop, so you should know how to finish a quilt or cushion by yourself at home.

Equipment and material needed:

• Sewing machine. Make sure beforehand that it works and you know how to thread it, wind the bobbin and straight stitch with an even tension. Remember the foot pedal, a standard foot for zig zag stitching, plus your straight sewing or ¼in foot, free motion/embroidery foot, spare bobbins, instruction booklet etc. Put in a new needle before this workshop - it needs to be sharp!

• Basic sewing kit containing sharp fabric scissors, small scissors or snips, pencil, pins and a stitch ripper

• Fat Quarter of plain/plainish fabric in sand colour for the background

• Fat Quarter or 25cm of plain/plainish blue (sky) fabric and plain/plainish/patterned (sea) fabric

• Selection of fabrics (fat eighth or more plus scraps) in bird colours! Think white, black grey etc. Batiks, plains, small textures, smallish prints are all good. Plus small scraps in natural tones are good for pebbles, beach, bird details etc (if in doubt, pop it in your bag). We’ll also have a selection of pre-cut fabrics that you can buy in small quantities, plus our overflowing scrap basket for you to dive into*

• 75cm of Bondaweb or Fuse-a-web appliqué fusible medium

• Cotton threads to coordinate with your fabrics (best to bring a selection of different neutral colours)

• 50x50cm of wadding

• If there is anything you’re missing, you can buy fabrics, threads and haberdashery etc from the store during the day. * Plus, we’ve created a lovely Sweet Treat fabric pack that can inspire you (available online very shortly). Refreshments will be provided at each workshop.

If you have any questions, please phone us on 01634 838880 before booking. Please note we do not send out reminder emails before a workshop, as all the information you need is here! For location and car parking info, please see our Contacts page.