Travel without Travelling!

Travel without travelling!  Due to travel restrictions around the world right now, our desires to travel seem to be heightened. It’s human nature to want something you can’t have!  My solution to this is to create a wall hanging or window covering, both of which are currently very popular for home decor. I created one reminiscent of a warm coral sea.  For those of you that don’t want 3-D flowers, how about creating organza objects that become 3-D by the way you stitch them on the wall hanging!

This project starts by appliquéing the sand bar to the sea background using a blanket stitch.

Then several rows of sashing are attached to the sea background. A quilt sandwich is then created with this top, batting, and the backing. Pieces 2, 3, and 4 in the picture below are sashing pieces.

At this point, any quilting should be done and the binding attached. Now it’s time for the fun embroidered embellishments. 

The Angelfish are super colourful and have sparkling Mylar in the faces. These are stitched, rinsed, and dried flat. When these are stitched on to the wall hanging, the tail is pinched where it joins the body and then stitched down. This creates a slight bulge to the body and the tail. The nose and outer edges of the fins are the other places the fish is stitched down to the project.  I also placed crystals in their eyes.

The seahorses also have Mylar in their bodies.  The use of Mylar gives the effect of sun shining through the surface of the water. These are dried flat, but when placing them on the project, the head is stitched down first, then the body is curved out a bit, and then the tail is stitched down. Crystals in the eyes again!  I love my crystals!

Next come the shells. These are stitched, rinsed, and dried flat. Stitch a group of 3 iridescent beads near the hinge of one of the small clam shells. I used 3 beads because I didn’t have one large bead. The smaller clam shells are then stitched together around the hinge.

The other shells can be stitched to the sandbar by stitching first one side and then the other side to create slight curves and bulges, as depicted by the shadows in the picture below.

Next are the bubbles. Each bubble has a highlight stitched onto it. These can be dried over a pencil or pen to give them shape. Just be aware of where and what direction the highlights are positioned!  The sun shines from one side only!  Stitch these onto the project by tacking down each side, keeping the dried curve in tact. The stitched highlight is positioned on the left side, running from top to bottom, with the silver stitching near the top. 

Below, the bulge in the seahorse and the bubbles can be seen a little better.

The corals are treated a bit differently. Normally, when burning out an object, the stencil burner is run around the outside stitching, but for the corals, the organza is burned about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the stitching. This burning will seal the edges of the organza to prevent it from fraying. These can be scrunched a little before drying. Tack these to the project by machine stitching invisible thread down a few of the double stitched veins.

Lastly, stitch on some iridescent beads.  Pictures just don’t do this project justice!

Hang this on the wall and daydream of the better days to come, over a cup of coffee! 

Life Amongst the Corals pattern can be found under Our Products, Pattern Paks.

If you want to use a wall hanging for a window covering, thread some claw clips, as shown below, on an extension rod, clip on the wall hanging and fit the rod inside the window frame.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me at info@designsbyrothney.com

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that I have inspired you to create!

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