Background Check - Week 3 - STRIPPING

NO!!!!!!! Not THAT kind......

STRIPPING  BACKGROUND

This background is built out of strips sewn together. These strips can be pieced or raw edge appliqued.

Step 1
Pick out your Fabric Strips!
Or...make them! I've done both

Step 2
Stitch them together
Difficult instructions...I know. This is where you decide what kind of stitching you want to do...

Background is ready!!

Smaller Strips
Here is a piece I did with a stripped background. The topic piece is a gel medium transfer from the original entertainment section in a 1946 New York paper advertising war time movies. The strips are both commercial red and cammo fabrics and my own hand dyed fabrics. This one I piece strips together and then cut them up to use as the background. I also "wrote" with my sewing machine the names of people I know who served and are serving in the military.

IN  HONOR

In Honor - detail

Larger Strips

Sometimes a very simple background is best. But you still want a sense of depth, transition and texture. This time I used a set of hand-dyed blue gradation fabrics, Riiiippped up larger strips (oh the fun of it all!) and placed them diagonally on the batting. Then stitched them down with raw-edge applique. I felt the blues brought just the right amount of "icy cold" to a piece about snowflakes.

The color difference is due to the fact that the final piece is a professional photograph.

NO  TWO  ALIKE

Big strips...little strips...they can all make a very interesting background for your creativity!!

See you Friday!!

Kelly L Hendrickson