Free project with mul•tex—”Homescape” art quilt

Lydia Carlsgaard, a member of our Creative Troupe, used the transparent quality of mul•tex™ to add layers and depth to her wonderful art quilt. The fusibility of mul•tex also simplified the quilting process by eliminating the need for a walking foot and pins.

Materials:

• mul•tex - 11½” x 17¼” piece
• Assorted print fabrics- enough for 5 houses (4½” squares), 5 rooftops (2½”x5″ triangles), 5 chimneys (1″ x 2″) plus additional scraps for the focal house block and mini-window patches
• Background fabric for top panel of quilt (white shown here) 12″ x 18″
• Background fabric for bottom layer of quilt (purple shown here) 20” x 21”, plus binding
• Black backing fabric 20” x 21”
• Batting pieces 22” x 22” and 13″ x 19″
• Acrylic ink or paint – 3 colors (blues and greens shown)
• Pencil and ruler

INSTRUCTIONS:

This art quilt is constructed by layering a collaged quilted panel on top of a plain background quilt.Using your assorted printed fabrics, cut out 5 each of the house, roof and chimney shapes. The house base is approximately 2½” -3” square. The roof can be approximately 2½” high by 4”-5’ wide. The chimney size can be any size. You can be loose with these measurements…varying the size and shapes can add interest.

1. Place background fabric (white) on top of batting. Arrange houses on background fabric, then sew into place by following the perimeter of the house parts.
2. Using a pencil and ruler, sketch buildings onto the dull side of the mul٥tex (use masking/painters tape to hold the edges flat while working on it).
3. Blend inks/paints with water to lighten the color (so the mul٥tex remains transparent). Paint each building with a light coat (alternating colors). Allow to dry, then trim them out.
4. Fuse the shiny side of the mulŸ•tex buildings on top of the houses with a dry iron – just a few seconds of pressing on medium heat (place a sheet of Silicone Release Paper or a pressing cloth between the mul•tex and the iron to prevent it from warping).
5. Using a contrasting thread color, sew over the sketched building lines.
6. Piece together a focal house block (as shown or from your own pattern) approximately 4” x 5” overall
7. Construct mini-window patches (log cabin block shown here) to fit 3 windows in your buildings.

  8. Attach the focal house block and window patches to the top panel using a blanket or buttonhole stitch.

  9. Trim the top panel to 11 1/2 x 17 1/2" and add a binding. Optional blanket or buttonhole stitch can be used for a decorative edge between quilt and binding.

10. Construct the background quilt (this quilt is 18½” x 19½”) as desired…whole cloth or do some piecing at the bottom. Lydia added the title of her quilt with a free-motion stitch.

11. Attach top panel to the background quilt using a slipstitch.

Many thanks to Lydia for sharing her amazing talents and creativity!