Using leftover Banyan Batiks to create an original wall hanging design

Yesterday I showed you how to use a pieced block made from Banyan Batik Visual Sound fabric as a background for some flower and leaf shapes made using fusible web and scraps of Banyan Batik fabrics. The small scale of the Ketan fabrics was just right for the leaves and little circle flowers.

If you’ve been making the projects from my last QUILTsocial post in May and the ones from this week, using Banyan Batiks, you’ll still have a few scraps left over. These are perfect for the flowers, stems and leaves for today’s small wall quilt. Just add 2 or 3 fat quarters for background, borders and binding and you’re ready to go!

Here’s how to get started.

fabrics

• 1 fat quarter of Banyan Batik for the background. I used black Ketan #998.
• 1 or 2 fat quarters for the border and 1 fat quarter for binding. I used a fat quarter of Ketan light gray #442 and dark gray #639. Follow the link to see all the Ketan colors. These fabrics are ideal blenders for all the other Banyan Batiks.
• a variety of small scraps for the flowers and leaves

Download the PDF file containing the appliqué shapes that I used.

You can print these shapes on 8½” x 11″ sheets of HeatnBond EZ Print fusible web or trace them on the fusible web of your choice. I cut the stems free-hand from fabric that had fusible web on the back.

Just follow the instructions from yesterday’s QUILTsocial post for using fusible web.

• Arrange the prepared flowers, stems and leaves on the black Banyan Batik fat quarter as desired. Again, you can use the instructions from yesterday’s post for placing the shapes on the background.

If you want some of the flowers and leaves to overlap on the border, sew the border strips on before fusing down the applique shapes. I cut my border strips from the light and dark grayBanyan Batik Ketan fat quarters, making them about 4″ wide, but they can be any size you like.

I like to work on a design wall when planning these little quilts so I can re-arrange pieces as required. You can see that I had a couple of versions of the border before deciding on the final one.

After the borders are sewn on, you’re ready to stitch down the applique shapes. They can be sewn on with a straight stitch or a decorative stitch. Because the Banyan Batiks don’t tend to fray on the edges, you don’t need to worry about covering them completely.

Another option is to layer the quilt top, batting and backing and then stitch the shapes down. In that way, you’re completing the quilting as well as stitching down the applique shapes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed using and learning more about Northcott Banyan Batiks this week. There are more fabrics being added to the collection all the time. Remember to click the Product Finder Button at the top of every fabric page on the Northcott website to find out which shops have your favorite Banyan Batiks!