Los Cabos Postcard

Follow the steps below to create your own postcard.

1. Start by using a photo of your favorite landscape (this one of Los Cabos, Mexico was taken because we wanted to remember the 2008 vacation). Either scan or enlarge the photo on your home printer. The image doesn't need to be perfect, but it should be good enough so you can see the color and hue differences.
   
2. There are several different ways to applique, but for this one we traced the basic arch image on a piece of oversized muslin so we had an outline. Once we determined the basic colors, we filled in the outline with smaller pieces of fabric.
   
3. We use fusible batting for all our quilts because it is easier to handle under the short arm sewing machine. Layer your piece of muslin under and on top of a oversized piece of batting. Iron it in place.
   
4. This 8 1/2 x 11 postcard is made from random Batik fabric found in the scrap pile. Separate your batik fabric into similar colors. You'll be cutting small areas from your fabric so you can show distinct contrast in your piece. Don't worry if there are several colors in the fabric, you are fussing cutting to get the exact color you want. Save your scraps so you can use the other colors on your next project.
   
5. The cutting doesn't need to be perfect, just begin with a basic shapes of the light and dark areas and cut as you go. We started with the sky. The original picture had different cloud formations, but the batik we used had hues of dark blue to stark white so we used the fabric designs to build the formations for the sky. Sometimes you'll be cutting large pieces and sometimes you'll need tiny pieces to accentuate detailed areas. Just cut and layer so you are laying the piece over the outside edges of the previous piece. That way you don't have to hem or tuck under the fabric.
   
6. You can pin your fabric down or use fusible webbing. On this one, we pinned it and the small pieces happened to stay in place. Just cut shapes similar to the light and dark shapes in the photo. Compare them against the shapes and contrast to the original as you go. It will not look exactly like the original photograph. If that is the technique you are trying to strive toward, you may just want to copy the image on copier-friendly fabric and call it good. But since this is a pieced postcard, we went with creating something new.
   
7. We chose variegated thread to quilt it and didn't try to stay within the lines. Since we didn't want to hem each piece, we made sure we sewed close enough to the edges of each piece so it would lay flat. Use contrasting thread so you can see the detailed lines.
   
8. We tried a new technique we learned to finish the border. Because the finished piece ends up being slight smaller than 8 1/2 x 11, we didn't want to do a traditional binding on it. Instead, we found some small black cording and laid it around the outside edge of the quilted piece. Then zig-zag on top of the cording to hold it in place all the way around. reduce the length of your stitch so it is a solid zig-zag and continue to sew around and around the piece until you get the look you want.
   
9. If you need help leave a comment with your phone number or email address and we will give you a call to walk you through any part of the project.