Abstacted Armchair

My 'Close-Up' piece came from the upholstery pattern on an armchair at home, the abstract design has always interested me.

Photo of armchair fabric

I started by taking a close up photo, I then drew my design into a sketch book choosing the shapes I liked, not keeping to the placements on the fabric. I used water colour paints, loosely following the upholstery colours.

Design painting and fabric sample

My next step was to do a  free machine sample of the design and add a wash of Intense Blocks and fabric paints. I liked this effect but the patterns were not as sharp as I wanted.
From there I decided to paint the design onto a piece of  hand dyed fabric. I was considering cutting this up once it was painted, but it took so long to paint and I liked the result, so I laid two sheets of organza over to knock back the colours and quilted it in a simple grid pattern.
The edges are finished with satin stitch and then painted.

Abstracted Armchair

detail showing finished design

 

Difficult to take good photos as the organza catches the light.

Back soon as the next challenge is waiting my attention.
Sue