On Facebook recently I saw a post by someone who seems to have recently discovered the joys and freedom of improvisational piecing, or ‘improv’, a term in the quilted art world meaning freehand cutting and piecing. Basically the technique casts aside the precise pattern pieces carefully followed by traditional quiltmakers to make what we know as traditional patterns like Double Wedding Ring, Rob Peter to Pay Paul, Texas Star, and so on. Improv piecing builds up groups of fabric using whatever angles and non-straight lines the maker wants, resulting in organic looking patchwork units, which may or many not repeat. The technique has become so popular over the past 35+ years that it has become a modern tradition.
The quilter who made and posted a pic of her work in progress went on to say “It’s like a puzzle. Make the components, with no specific plan, and decide how you want them to fit together.” She used a bright primary colour scheme without subtlety of any kind, which put me off a bit, but what really bothered me was how literally she took the word ‘improvisational’. If she attended some teacher’s workshop, that’s a shame, because it’s clearly either poor teaching, or she herself hasn’t understood the full meaning and potential of ‘improvisational’. Her work in progress showed the development of a set of ‘blocks’ or units containing the same colours, and by the provisional layout on her design wall, it was clear she intended to include at least partial sashing pieces; and I was struck by how very like the sampler quilts that many new quilters make to learn the basics of traditional geometric piecing. Those sampler quilts are usually technically diverse, and often in coordinating colours, but most by their nature usually lack a cohesive overall design.
From most dictionaries come this kind of definition: “Improvisation or improvization (often shortened to improv) is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found”. (Wikipedia) but ‘improv’ doesn’t necessarily mean without any kind of plan. I learned the basics of improv from Nancy Crow ever 30 years ago, immediately loved it and its potential, and it’s been my go-to piecing method since. The main thing is that it’s a technique, not a design in itself. Once the very few freehand piecing basics are mastered, the way to use any new technique is in a project, and deciding to make a wall or bed quilt using the improv technique is step#1 of every plan.
Step #2 is thinking about any kind of result you are envisaging in your mind – what character/style of the units, and other design basics including lines and shapes, repetition, focal point, balance and so on. For a successful result, all this spontaneous creativity must address colour, fabric textures (plains prints, stripes and so on) and more before starting, otherwise just grabbing a random piece of fabric and cutting and piecing is doomed to making a mess and runs a big risk of either being cast side with many others, or destined to be cover on the dog’s bed. I find it sad whenever I see art quilt makers declare (or confess) they have a bunch of 8/ 10 (I have seen 12) unfinished works or as quilters know them, UFOs. I suspect this happens because of lack of design skills or understanding of the importance of that basic knowledge in reaching a satisfying result.
My goal for Diamantina was a wall quilt embodying my knowledge and love of part of Australia’s Outback within that river’s catchment area.
- It’s one of Australia’s huge intermittent inland rivers that flows only after heavy rains in southeast Queensland, northern South Australia, and a southern part of the Northern Territory
- For most of the time the river bed lies in a very hot, sparsely vegetated desert part of the Outback
- Colours that express ‘heat’ are between yellow and red on the colour wheel
- I wanted to develop a sense of ‘flow’ because that’s when its identity is most apparent.
I’d made similar units in another projects before, so didn’t need any kind of diagram. Freehand cutting through several (4?) layers of fabric at a time, I pieced the units, then added wandering strip inserts, after which I decided to add another surface design element of triple needle machine embroidery in wandering lines compatible with the piecing directions. I then trimmed them to precise squares and arranged them in rows on my design wall. When satisfied with the layout, I sewed them together. The inserted strips and machine embroidered lines occurred to me after starting, and each took me closer to my end goal. My plan was simple, and I was willing to consider including additional options along the way. It was improvisational certainly, but always still within the plan for my end goal.
In many later works I ditched the precisely trimmed shapes and totally eyeballed them, too:
If you google improv piecing, you’ll see there are so many ways it can be used. There are simple directions and tutorials on Youtube. However, I’d recommend you just jump in. Give the very few freehand piecing basics a go without overthinking it. A line is a seam, and if you think it, you can do it!
I include links to previous posts or outside websites when I feel some readers would like more background information. If you need help with freehand construction please don’t hesitate to email me at alison@alisonschwabe.com