I do applique with wool felt. I am sharing this online because I search for applique ideas online so I want to pay it forward and put my ideas out there for others to find when they’re looking for inspiration.
This project is a banner to hang on the pulpit at church for spring time services. It was a bit of a “sampler” project, as it is 16 small squares (5.5″) that I could carry around with me to work on at meetings. I also tried out lots of different stitches and techniques, then assembled it all. We used this banner at church for “flower communion day” This is a UU tradition where members of the congregation each bring a flower, which we gather together into a bouquet where you can see all the beauty of diversity, then each attendee chooses a flower to take home with them. So, the banner depicting 16 different flowers fits right in to that tradition.
Source of Idea
I want to be sure I credit where my idea for this project came from. At one point, when I was starting to learn applique, Karen Hahn of HorseAndBuggyCountry.com offered a kit on Etsy which included 24 different flower blocks. By the time I had built my skills and was ready to try it, I could no longer find the kit anywhere and she no longer has an Etsy store or website.
So, I designed my own collection. Five of the squares are based on her designs, but others were inspired by looking at the actual plants and at the work of quilters and applique artists to see how they have translated nature into art.
Here are the flowers, in the order they appear on the banner.
Hydrangea
Hydrangea are common here in the Seattle area, and I like the blues and purples of them. For this one, I used multiple colors of felt, cut small flowers out, and then layered them, only fusing down some of the petals on each one, and adding just a single French knot to the center of each.
Daffodil
A classic spring flower! Here it is in process, and finished.
Rose
This was one of the last flowers I did, because I had a hard time figuring out a design that could work. But, there is a great UU hymn about “a rose in the wintertime.” And we have traditions like at a child dedication, we give the child a rose with the thorns removed, new members receive a rose, etc. My first attempt the bud was too small, so I like the final product better.
Lotus Flower
The lotus symbolizes rebirth, resilience and spiritual enlightenment.
Pansy
This is one of the flowers that Karen Hahn designed. The stich on the stems is a chain stitch, made with two strands of floss.
Poppies
Poppies are a symbol of remembrance, honoring the sacrifice of military personnel who have served and died in war.
Cherry Blossoms
The cherry blossom, or sakura, is a symbol of springtime and renewal, and a celebration of life’s ephemeral moments.
Japanese Andromeda
So, one of my flowers was a total fail. My tiger lily was terrible. So, for my 16th flower, I went for a walk for inspiration, and right outside church, we had these lovely flowers. (Japanese andromeda, aka pieris japonica.) I went searching for a pale pink felt, and thought I’d found a good option with the “lobster bisque” color from Pixie Fibers. Unfortunately, it was a) too pale, and b) too loosely “woven” – it was hard to get a good crisp shape for these tiny little blossoms. But I found another option from Julie Mayfield Home that worked geat.
Tulips
Delphinium
Just for visual interest, I wanted to bring in blues, but there actually aren’t very many blue flowers – it is not a common color in nature. I also wanted a cluster of flowers on a stock – like snapdragons or hollyhock. So, these are to represent delphinium (or maybe larkspur…)
Crocus
Potato Vine
These are just fun tiny flowers on a vine. Running stitch on the leaves, and French knots on the flowers.
Black Eyed Susans
Fuchsia?
This is based on Karen Hahn’s design. I think that she may have called it trumpet vine, but it’s not really much like that. Maybe fuchsia? Not sure…
Sunflower
Iris
This could also be interpreted as an orchid, I suppose. But it is very similar to the iris that bloom outside church near Flower Communion time.
Accessories
I decided to add a couple of enamel pins to the banner, incorporating some pollinators to represent the interdependent web of life. These are enamel pins, ordered from Etsy – the butterfly, and bee.
Fabrics
I generally use 100% wool that is woven and felted, and dyed by hand. The blue wool backing for the project was from Primitive Gatherings. The other colors were from: Carriage Country Quilts, Sew Creative, and Julie Mayfield Home.
Here is the final product in context at my church:
