Patchwork with your own hands: all about this technique for novice

masters It is no longer possible to determine exactly when the first time a person used the remains of cloth - flaps - to create a new product. And what kind of product was it - a blanket, a pillow, or maybe a curtain - who knows. And only one thing can be said with certainty: it was filled with care for loved ones, with warmth and love. Have you always wanted to create something truly exclusive from the remaining scraps of cloth? It's very simple to create unique patchwork patches with your own hands, especially when there is an instruction.

History and modernity

The word patchwork itself comes from the English words patch - patch, and work - work. And although there was no such term before, the very patchwork of handicraft was well known to our great-grandmothers. Earlier, when good fabrics were very rare and expensive, every piece that remained after sewing any product, a scrap was necessarily used. From it sewed all kinds of capes, bedspreads, napkins, even clothes for children. So patchwork has turned from a method of non-waste use of fabric to folk craft. And he originates from England, where in the beginning of the XVIII century.these beautiful Indian fabrics were very expensive, and, apparently, the masters could not simply send the trimmings left behind after sewing in garbage.

Over time, the textile industry has developed to unprecedented heights, and there was no longer any need to save fabric. And the patchwork technique was forgotten for a long time. Revival of it in our days is absolutely not related to the need to save. Today patchwork has become a real art direction with its schools, trends and trends, and clothes and accessories made in this style shine on the fashion podium next to the works of famous designers.

Different products can be made in patchwork style with their own hands, we put a photo of some of them below.

Tips for novice craftspeople

The very first question that arises in all beginners, of course, where to get the materials for patchwork, the same rags? If you are engaged in sewing, embroidery or can be knitting, then you already could accumulate a fairly large number of different scraps of fabric. It is from them that you can make blanks for your first model, made in the technique of patchwork sewing. If you do not have extra pieces of cloth, but your possibilities are quite high, special pieces for patchwork can be purchased at handicraft shops in your city or on the Internet. With various ornaments, and possibly with full-fledged pictures, such blanks will look fantastic in the product.

• You can use in work as a piece of new fabric, and already used. Before engaging them in work, we recommend both new and old cloth to wash and steam off with an iron to eliminate the possibility of shrinkage and discoloration.
• If the fabric is not new, then it is best to wash it beforehand and starch it and iron it well.
• The most simple and convenient in work are cotton fabrics. They hold the shape well, they are easy to sew. From the shreds of this fabric are obtained excellent napkins, bedspreads, potholders, covers for chairs and pillow cases, capes.
• Thick fabrics such as tweed, gabardine, drape are used for rugs, panels and blankets.
• Silk flaps do not pre-starch, but gelatin, also to give them stiffness. However, it must be remembered that thin silk wears out very quickly, therefore products from it are impractical.
• In some products, different fabric textures can be combined( one may have a tighter seal), but if there are no such conditions, it is better to choose a fabric of the same texture.
• If the product will be permanently used, it is better to make a lining made of sintepon or batting.
• If the seams are finished with braid, the composition will play in a new way.
• Elements cut neatly, providing allowances for seams. For more convenience, you can make templates from cardboard, which you can use.
• From the dense fabric, the flaps are cut out without allowance on the seam. They are adhered to the back of a special substrate, and then process the joints with a seam "zigzag".

Video selection

If you want to learn the technique of patchwork, video lessons will help you master this simple technique.