I learned about “leaf pounding” to make prints on fabric in a workshop years ago. I never did much with it, but I did finally hand quilt one piece.
And this next one is even bound!
This gave me the idea that I could have some co-workers over and we could all pound leaves. So here we go…
Everybody brought a variety of leaves
We arranged them on PFD (prepared for dye) fabric
Then taped them to the back of the fabric and pounded the front side
Results varied!
The Japanese Maple leaves came out very well
And, especially toward the end, it was sometimes more fun to make a secondary pattern with hammer marks than to pound the whole thing
Finally we had cookies…and a veggie tray?!?
Have you tried leaf pounding? There are, of course, multiple youtube videos on how to do it. What worked for you?
P.S. – I am making a quilt for the December/January issue of Quick + Easy Quilts using these beautiful fabrics from Robert Kaufman.
So watch for that issue to come out with my quilt in two colorways–this red/green/gold plus a blue/white/silver version!
Zippy Quilts 
So fun! I haven’t done leaf pounding, but have recently learned about and tried flower pounding. I’d love to do more with it – maybe if I ever retire! Lol!
Leaves are easier than flowers, so go for it!
I’ve never done leaf pounding, but it sounds like fun. I’m looking forward to seeing the Christmas quilt…the fabric is beautiful.
Yes, I’ve always liked the Kaufman holiday fabrics, so I was pleased to get to use them for this quilt.
So many tricks out there that I have yet to try . . . There’s lots of potential in the fabric combination–will be fun to see the results.
Our best idea was to take a good photo of the leaf prints then send that to Spoonflower to be printed on fabric. It was a fair amount of work for each leaf print, and this way we can get yardage!
That is awesome, I’ve never heard of this technique before – very cool!
There are several resources online, as with most things these days! Give it a try 😀
Thanks so much!
I tried flower pounding as a child…lots of fun! Maybe I should do that again…you had great results with your leaf pounding party! 🙂
Leaves are easier than flowers, since most of them work as-is but flowers usually need to be taken apart to get a good image. Either way, go for it!
Your leaf poundings look lovely. I have seen this method on social media and want to try it. I do feel a bit sorry for the leaves being hit by a hammer…
Congrats on the Kauffman quilt. Looking forward to seeing what you do with those gorgeous fabrics.
Indeed, the process is a little hard on the leaves, but it also memorializes them 😀
Hmm. Believe it or not, I’ve never heard of leaf-pounding. But I can see from your photos how it goes. Very interesting. That Japanese maple leaf is striking! It’s doubtful I’ll ever try pounding leaves, but I’ll never say, “Never.” Congratulations to you about having a design accepted for publication! That’s such a great feeling. I hope your project turns out as beautifully as you imagine.
Thank you.
First thoughts–congrats on the making of a quilt for publication! It’s always fun to see our work in print. I hope you will show it here, too, when the project is published.
And yes, I did flower pounding a decade ago with a group of ladies (more fun in numbers?) I think that Japanese maple turned out so beautifully. We did flowers and found that the fleshier blooms gave more color, but often were more blurry around the edges. I don’t know what I did with that fabric–good for you for getting it finished up in a quilt!
Thanks. I was so surprised by how well the Japanese maple came out!