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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Kantha design construction and finish

When I last posted I had ordered some batik as background and backing to make a large cushion with my Kantha design. I chose a colour called Jungle Green from Batik Fabrics Online.

When it arrived I cut borders for the four sides of the Kantha, lined them with old sheet, and attached them. 
I then marked out a space to embroider a Kantha border around the edge of the Kantha and stitched four rows of spaced running stitch with the intention of applying two or three rows of wavy weaving.
I decided, however, that my running stitch lines were too far apart, so had to insert rows between. That was easier said than done, as the rows had been deliberately off-set to achieve the effect I wanted from the weaving. I managed to achieve a half=offset that worked if I exercised care .






To complete the edge I managed to find a little Kantha border arrow-head design that worked with my final row and the new spacing.




By now I was very anxious to finish my cushion, but I decided the bordered piece needed to be blocked again.


Here is the finished masterpiece. The photos do not show the size, which is a European pillow size - roughly 70cm square ( a bit of a change from pincushions!). I'm wanting it to be a comfortable cushion for sitting on the floor.

The shells don't show up in the photos, but I think they add to the effect without getting in the way of comfort.
I'm pretty pleased with this one.

2 comments:

Monica said...

I am very impressed with how good that Kantha border looks! It really ties everything together. I have to think about how to adapt that to quilting...

You have every right to be pleased, Jillian, it's an excellent finish!

Jillian said...

Thanks Monica. Borders are a big part of Kantha so I wanted to include one and didn't have room on the piece itself. I think it's good luck, rather than good management, that I chose a variegated thread with lots of red. The border was so dark I needed a contrasting dark. It all blended and, as you point out, boosted the original piece. I'll try it again, I hope.