How to Make a Scarf Souvenir

article by Quilting Daily

Fabric Painting on the Go!

When I look at on Instagram, I can tell at a glance the photos posted by fiber artists: they almost always convey texture or pattern. Not just photos of fabric or fibers, but fences, grates, cracks in the sidewalk, and so on. When a fiber artist goes to Paris, she's just as likely to take a picture of an unusual subway tile pattern as the Eiffel Tower.

'Paint' on fabric with Paintstik rubbings to create a memorable travel scarf like this one by Lois Jarvis.

Photos and sketchbooks can help you keep track of textures and patterns when you travel. But you can also collect these souvenirs in a more tactile way--by painting on fabric.

You might think fabric painting and traveling don't mix. But if you use an oil paint stick, it can work. Oil sticks, such as Shiva Paintstiks, are solid paint in stick form. A seal forms over the exposed part of the stick when not in use; you have to remove this skin before painting or writing on fabric. The paint is set and washable after 24 hours.

Paint sticks pick up relief patterns well. You can easily make rubbings by placing fabric over a texture and running the stick over the top.

Lois Jarvis showed how she created a silk travel scarf with paint stick rubbings, in a past issue of Quilting Arts Gifts. The scarf became an artful memento of her excursion.

Here are some of Lois's tips for making successful rubbings:

• Raised letters and textures work better than carved ones.
• Leaves, especially exotic native ones, make good rubbings.
• Keep scale and rhythm in mind while designing your scarf on the go.
• Start on the ends; when you wear the scarf no one will see what is gathered up behind your 
• neck.
• Concrete makes an interesting fill-in texture.
• Keep all the rubbings on one side of the scarf.
What a conversation piece you can make!

You can make this scarf or any of eight others with our Make Your Own Fashionable Fiber Art Scarves Collection. Each kit includes two habotai silk scarves, a set of Paintstiks, a set of Dyn-a-flow paints, and our eBook Fiber Art Scarves with tutorials on making scarves with fabric painting ideas, fabric dyeing techniques, patchwork, beading, and more.

Scarves of all shapes and styles are hot right now, so be sure to get your Fashionable Fiber Art Scarves Collection and start making your own artful scarves.

Editor, Quilting Daily

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5 Steps to Better Portrait Art Quilts

 31 Dec 2014 by VivikaEditor

From pixel quilts made of tiny fabric squares to mixed-media quilts that enhanced fabric with paint or colored pencil, quilt artists made a lot of faces. (even if you are not a fabric artist, you can take these ideas and tips and use them for your choice of media. Wouldn't the art quilt below be awesome in another media!).

From what's been seen at quilt shows, on social media, and art shows portraits will continue to be popular in 2015. So here are some tips from some portrait quilt artists.

Employ fine art skills. You don't have to go to art school to create successful fabric portraits, but knowing a thing or two about painting and drawing will help--even if you just practice in a sketchbook. Kate Themel,, who specializes in heavily stitched figurative quilt art says, "Painting taught me to think about the interaction of colors and not be afraid to make bold moves. Drawing required me to quiet down, observe objects with focused attention, and to notice contour and texture."

Fusible is your friend. Deborah Hyde's pixel portrait on the cover of the April/May 2014 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine wowed readers, and many were curious about how she managed to stitch so many 1" squares. Deborah's trick is to use a fusible interfacing grid. For more free-form portraits, add dimension with fabric and fusible. MistyFuse® fusible web is so lightweight you can build up layers or create folds with it.

Pixel portrait art quilt by Deborah Hyde, made of 1" squares fused and stitched on a grid.

Don't seek perfection. "Perfectionism is a creativity killer," says quilting artist and painter Melissa Averinos. Her Thread Ladies mini-quilts emerged from experimenting while she practiced long-arm stitching techniques. Doodle and play with thread and colors to see what kind of portraits you can create--and feel free to practice on muslin before you commit to "good" fabric.

Mix your media. Art quilts break the rules, so don't be afraid to add paint, colored pencil, or water-soluble pigments to your fabric portraits. Esterita Austin applies white paint with a small angled paintbrush to add light--and life--to her portrait subject's eyes.

Quilt artist Esterita Austin shows how to bring life to fabric portraits by adding paint. 

Practice on your pets! Pet portraits are always popular. And while they're often reluctant to pose, pets are less likely to judge your interpretation of their likeness than humans. Start with some fabric postcards or even ATCs (artist trading cards) featuring your pets before proceeding to people. (On a personal note, ATC's are such fun, plus its a great size to experiment. I also enjoy the fact that ATC's are traded with other artists).

There is lots of information on how to create quilted art portraits from award-winning quilt artists and instructors available in the Quilting Daily Shop. Two Quilting Arts Workshops that are recommend are Making Faces: Beginning and Advanced Portraits with Maria Elkins and Dynamic Fabric Art Portraits: A Foolproof, Step-By-Step Process with Esterita Austin.