Raised Quilt and Stitch

Over the course of her long and creative career, quilting expert Sylvia Critcher has established her own unique process for combining raised quilt and stitch techniques to create wonderful effects. Sylvia's method features a variety of quilting and raised embroidery techniques including trapunto, Italian quilting, le boutis, French-style cording and English quilting. The book will guide you through the history and context of these traditional techniques and show you how to combine them with the necessary stitches to create Sylvia's distinctive style of work.

This book will show you exactly how Sylvia creates her richly textured surfaces by following a simple step-by-step pincushion project from start to finish. The process is broken down into key stages, and clear illustrations are given to guide the reader through the process. All the instructions and templates needed to create nine further contemporary projects are given: a ring pillow, chair cushion, bag, needlecase, lap quilt, runner, table centre, wall hanging and full-size quilt. All the templates required are given at actual size in a handy pull-out section. The book also contains a helpful section on ‘developing designs’ and a gallery of beautiful pieces to inspire.

• A practical guide to traditional raised quilting and stitching techniques, combined to create fresh, contemporary designs
• Follow the step-by-step instructions to create a simple pincushion, then apply the techniques to create nine further stunning projects
• Full-size templates provided

Book Contents

Introduction 6
Foreword 8
Basic techniques 10

Trapunto 12
Italian quilting 13
French-style cording 14
English quilting 15
Le Boutis 16

Getting started 18
Equipment 18
Fabrics 20
Threads and yarns 22
Embellishments 23
Stitches 24
Attaching embellishments 31
Creating the three-dimensional quilting 32
Using the design 34
Transferring the design 35
Layering and tacking (basting) 35
Stitching the outlines 36
Stitching the additional lines 37
Stuffing 38
Cording 39
Adding wadding (batting) 40
Final quilting 41
Making up 41

The projects 44
Moonflower needlecase 46
In a Twist bucket bag 52
Out of India pillow 58
Blue Dahlia quilt 64
Celtic Lotus wall hanging 72
Acanthus Entwined table runner 78
Ivory Splendour sampler quilt 84
Festive Cheer table centre 100
Winter Snow table runner 106

Developing designs 120
Be inspired by... 124
Index and glossary 144