LUDLOW QUILT AND SEW
Seminole Patchwork
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NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2010 - Ideas using seminole patchwork
August has arrived all too quickly and my daughter Samantha is in the air on her way to Arizona as I write this. She is doing an exchange year at Arizona State University. This last week has been a whirlwind of lists, packing and last minute purchases. We had a few language issues with the list of requirements that she was sent: neither of us knew what a sham or a comforter were, but google helped us out.
This month I got carried away with seminole patchwork, so I have 3 projects to share with you: a seminole clutch bag, seminole cushion cover and a seminole skirt band to lengthen a skirt.The Seminole and Miccosukee Indians of Florida first came up with the idea of sewing together long strips of fabric (usually brightly coloured for maximum effect) then cutting the strips across the width and sewing them back together to create wonderfully intricate and complex looking patterns.
There are thought to be legends associated with many of the designs, but on a purely selfish note I find that Seminole patchwork is great for impressing non-quilting friends because it looks far more complex than the work actually involved.
For the seminole clutch bag I used a 2.1/2" strip of blue and 1.1/2" strips of black and orange cut across the width of the fabric. Using a 1/4" seam, sew them together along the long length and then press all seam allowances in the same direction before cutting across the width.
Cut the strip across the width at 2.1/2" intervals. The panel on the right was made by alternating the direction of the strips: one piece with blue on top then the adjacent piece with orange on top.
There are many other ways of combining these seminole patchwork pieces. The photo on the left shows an interesting shadow effect. Then I added a 2.1/2" strip of black on either side to square off the seminole patchwork panel and made the clutch bag.For full details click on seminole clutch bag.
The next project was the seminole cushion cover.
For this I used a seminole patchwork strip at the top and bottom of the cover and made a matching design for the middle of the cushion cover using normal patchwork techniques.
This pattern introduces the next stage in seminole patchwork where the pieces are sewn together in a stepped design (offset) to create a row of triangles in the centre of the band.
The top and bottom of the band are trimmed so that the effect is of a row of diamonds in the middle with triangles above and below. Apart from the fact that it looks good, it is also advisable to add a strip of fabric to the trimmed edges as a border and to secure all the pieces and prevent fabric stretching.
For full details click onseminole patchwork cushion cover.
For the 3rd project I needed to lengthen a skirt and thought that a seminole patchwork band would do the job. This time I used the offset technique as for the cushion cover, but alternated the pieces.
I began with a 1.1/4" strip of black fabric and 1.1/2" strips of pink and blue, cut into pieces 1.1/4" wide. When sewing the pieces together I alternated the pieces so that one piece had blue at the top and the next had pink at the top.
This method gives more of an egg timer look to the band. When trimmed and bordered with black, it made an ideal band to use to lengthen the skirt.For full details click on lengthen skirts.
There are many more stunning designs that can be made using more strips of fabric, greater differences in the widths and cutting the pieces at varying angles, but I hope that these projects have given you an introduction to the seminole techniques.
Best Wishes
Rose
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rose@ludlowquiltandsew.co.uk
www.ludlowquiltandsew.co.uk