Tag Archives: leaf pounding

Leaf Pounding Party

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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!

Leaf Pounding and Lattice Making, By My Friends

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I love to hear from people who have used something from my blog to make something of their own, so here are a couple of examples.

My long-time friend Katy read my blog on leaf pounding and decided to do some of her own.  She was kind enough to send pictures of her first batch.  Each picture shows both the original leaf and the print.  Click on any picture for an enlarged image.

Laura, a blogging friend, made a lattice quilt using instructions from my blog to design it herself.  She made the blocks a little more rectangular than mine, and I like it. The fabric used was brought by her daughter from a visit to Cote d’Ivoire. The vendor who sold the fabric gave her the lime green to go with it.  This certainly makes a lively wall hanging, which Laura plans to give to the daughter who brought her the fabric.

Here’s the finished top:

Please let me know what you’ve done lately, even if it isn’t something from my blog!  I love seeing other people’s ideas 🙂

I Digress…To Leaf Pounding

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One of the things I love about quilting is that there is an endless supply of things to learn.  That often means that I get sidetracked onto something different, but that’s OK.

Several years go I took a class in leaf pounding but I never did anything with the results (sound familiar to anyone out there?)  I recently found the prints, still looking pretty good, in my DO SOMETHING box and decided to get busy.

Here is the first, a sycamore leaf that was pounded onto Kona PFD (fabric prepared for dying).

After the fabric dried, I outlined the leaf with a brown Pigma pen.  When I took it out recently I used cotton batting and muslin backing, spray basted it, and quilted it freehand.  I used my Bernina Stitch Regulator (BSR) and found it worked quite well for this purpose.  (I haven’t been so happy with the BSR on larger projects–as a friend once told me, “It’s like training wheels”, meaning it’s just too slow on something big.) However, I was pleased with the way the BSR worked it on this little piece.

Here’s a detail, showing some of the unevenness created when part of the leaf “stuck” to the fabric more than the rest of it.  I figure nature isn’t perfect so I’m not worrying about it.

If you want to try leaf pounding, there’s a tutorial here.

And now the question:  How should I finish this?  I don’t think binding would look right.  I have seen leaf pounding pieces framed, so I guess I could mount and frame it.  Edge finish with brown satin rat-tail?  Face the piece?  Other ideas?  Thanks, as always, for your suggestions!