Wednesday 18 May 2016

Ticker Tape Basset Hound - Here's How I made Wilbur in fabric!


Over the last few weeks, I have had a few people ask me how I made my Ticker Tape version of Wilbur, our Basset Hound.  I thought I'd write about how I made him, so if anyone wanted to make something similar they could!
I bought a copy of Scrap Happy Quilting and like most quilting books admired it, thumbed through it and put it back on the bookshelf.  Adrienne at Chezzetcook Modern Quilts had a quilt a long two years ago to get us using our Library books and I picked this project as something to try from the book.  Then we had a get together with the Modern Quilters Ireland group in Galway and I swapped it! It has a lot of colourful projects and you can buy the book as a PDF here.  Having given mine away I had to come up with a plan to do my own ticker tape project!
So of course I chose Wilbur!  Elephants are cool and I love them in fabric, so much so, it was because of this elephant print, that I bought my very first fat quarter bundle of Valori Wells fabric, called Karavan.
Having said that, any Basset Hound owner will tell you not much compares to a Basset, so I pulled out my scraps of Karavan that I had left over from my first pieced quilt and arranged them in a bassety shape and thought this could work!

The first step is to draw an outline on your background fabric of the shape you want to fill in.  Then hand stitch along that line with perle cotton to give yourself an outline to work with.
I had great fun sketching Wilbur and was very pleased with the head and nose but couldn't get his legs right so I turned to google and searched for Basset Hound Silhouette!


I chose the first image to work with from Silhouettes by Lena and used that as a basis to complete my design.  If the image is not in the public domain you may have to ask the copyright holder for permission to use their image for your work.
If you don't feel comfy scaling up an image by hand to draw on your fabric, you can do it on the computer easily enough and print your image across multiple pages.  Tape them together and you get a full size image you can trace.  The easiest way I found to do this was to save my drawing in Photoshop Elements as a PDF, then open Adobe Reader and print my drawing as a poster or banner across multiple pages.

Once you have your outline sewn on your background fabric you then baste your quilt top, wadding and backing.  My project was about 40" x 30" so I spray basted my quilt sandwich and that made it easier than having to remove and work around pins.

Ticker tape is technique that uses raw edge applique.  You sew through all the layers of your quilt as you are applying your scrap pieces. The idea is that the pieces fray over time and you get a textured effect.  I first tried a straight stitch and realised that 1/4" was too big a seam.  Reading up on it, it should have been closer to the edge about 1/8" or less so I ripped this bit out and went again but this time with a small zig-zag all around.  I got lucky with the eye fabric and am delighted how his head turned out.

Sewing through all the layers makes a really cool outline on the back of the quilt too!

I first started with laying pieces down and trimming around them with a sharp scissors using the perle outline as a guide for the outside edges.  For the inside edges I cut straight lines and left a small gap between the pieces approximately 1/8".


It got a bit messy with lots of bits and pieces on the floor but I really enjoyed the process and trying to fit all the pieces together like a jigsaw. 

I did try to use fabric colours guided my Wilbur's own colouring.  He is a tri-colour Basset so he has black, white and a beautiful reddy brown coat.  I used blue for the black areas, white and pink and mustard for the red/brown areas.

Even though I like the shades of pink, maybe that might be a colour choice I would change going forward as G commented that it reminded him of the butchers diagrams showing the various cuts of meat you can get.  Wilbur and I are ignoring that comment!  So ploughing ahead the final layout was like this!


I initially pinned the fabric in place but with all the turning through the machine zig-zagging the little pieces down it was easier in the end to use glue. 


I tried both fabric glue and fusible tape and the tape was the easiest.  I have since bought Roxannes Basting Glue and have had great success with it so I would probably use that next time instead!

If you don't like the frayed edges of ticker tape you could use Lara's no fray applique method from her new book Crafted Applique.  Lara's method would make this process very easy!  I'll be giving away a copy next Tuesday on the blog so please come back and visit.

Finally when all the pieces are secured, quilt to finish!  I used a wavy line just like the elephant project that inspired all this in the first place.  When washed it gives amazing texture!


So there you have it - Ticker Tape Wilbur!  I hope you are tempted to try your own ticker tape silhouette project.  If you do I'd love to see it!


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39 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh....I am in love! Wilbur (both of them) are adorable, as I started reading your post I thought wonder if you could use Lara's technique. Glad to see you can. Your quilt is just darling, love the fun scrappy fabrics. I have a Airedale terrier and It would be fun to make a Ticker Tape Guinness ( My dog). Thanks for sharing this cool technique!

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  2. I am completely in love with the idea of this! Thank you so much for sharing how you did it! I may give this a try with my cats. Additionally, when I was in college I worked on a project studying Bassett Hound Thrombopathia. We studied a platelet disfunction found in Bassett Hounds. We tested all the BH from the 2 largest kennels in Mi and I was able to map out how this was passed down in the breed. (thus allowing breeders to breed it out) They were a joy to work with! Thanks again for sharing!!

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  3. Both Wilbur are beautiful. It was quite interesting to read how you made your quilt. Thank you for explaining the technique. Pinned

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  4. You know.... The whole time I was working on my project for Lara's book tour, I was thinking of your ticker tape Wilbur and thinking how the Crafted Applique method would be perfect for making ticker tape quilts. Thank you for sharing a step by step process post for those of us who were curious how you went about making this beautiful portrait!

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  5. It's beautiful!
    Thanks so much for sharing the process, it's a great way to use scraps and definitely worth a try.

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  6. That is just fantastic! I am going to give this a try!

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  7. Your quilt is lovely. Might try that method someday myself.

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  8. YES!! OMG!!! I have bookmarked this post Ruth and can't wait to create one of Jackson this summer....as your Wilbur is just sooooo adorable. I'm so inspired by your post as I've been looking for a just a fund project. THANK YOU!!!

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  9. I was definitely going to say that I am more likely to tackle a project like this after learning Lara's method; Wilbur looks fantastic in fabric and getting to see your in process photos is fun.

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  10. My very favorite part of this (aside from dear loveable Wilbur) is how your ticker tape Wilbur has a patchwork look to it! Then when you explained how you create the pearle cotton outline, I loved the idea even more Ruth! I would love to see how it frays over time. Sometimes you do really want that look and not all appliques should have a tidy, neat edge. You are right though - Crafted Applique would be great to use with this if you don't want the fraying.
    Very charming and your instructions are wonderful!

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  11. Great post. Your ticker tape Willbur is wonderful, thank you so much for sharing the process. I have some Karavan scraps, you have give me food for thought to use them up.
    Smiles
    Kate

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  12. Hi, I just popped over from stitchingpixie.blogspot to say hello! This is simply adorable!! How cute!?

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  13. awesome! Standing ovation! love
    LeeAnna

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  14. Wilbur looks great. Thanks for the instructions.

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  15. This is so adorable! Beautiful work! :)

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  16. How interesting how this is pieced. I really like it. You did an amazing job!

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  17. Thanks for sharing the process of this quilt Ruth, it made fascinating reading.

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  18. Thanks for the great tutorial! I love the look of ticker-tape quilts but I haven't tried one yet. You've inspired me to give it a go! :)

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  19. oh my gosh! This is SO adorable. I love it, and I'm already thinking of all of the silhouettes I can make myself!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  20. Your Ticker Tape Wilbur is gorgeous!!! I love ticket tape technique but hadn't thought of using fusible tape - i have two free sample packs on my shelf so now know what to use them for. I really want to have a go at this - just got to come up with the image!

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  21. I think I need to get a dog :-)
    Wilbur is awesome and thank you so much for selflessly sharing your technique and process pictures!!!
    Hugs,
    Preeti.
    http://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com

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  22. Oh, I love this your Quilt-Wilbur!

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  23. What a lovely idea for a pet quilt, particularly for such a distinctive dog shape as a Bassett hound. And so beautifully executed. I guess this quilt will be a keeper!

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  24. What a neat project Ruth! Lara's method was perfect for your cute basset hound!

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  25. This is still one of my favs that you've done :)

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  26. What a lovely technique, Ruth, Wilbur is depicted perfectly! I, too, was thinking of Lara's crafted appliqué technique while reading your method description. I'm sure you can do it many ways, all with slightly different effects. I had never heard of fusible tape though, another product to look out for...

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  27. Ruth, Wilbur is just bee-YOO-tiful! I love the result, and I was thinking all along, use Lara's method! Use Lara's method! Although you won't get the lovely soft frayed edges... I have to do Rocco like this. Must! That eye is just perfect too.

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  28. Wilbur is AMAZING!!! Thanks for sharing how you made Wilbur the quilted dog... I love that and hope to adapt one day to make a ticker tape of my doxie after reading your experience with a basset! :) Kathi

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  29. Your little Wilbur has my head spinning with ideas and possibilities. It looks amazing! Thanks for sharing the process of how he came together. I can see how Lara's method could for for this project.

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  30. This is so cute and I'm glad to know that I"m not the only person who regularly uses the phrase "bassetty"!!

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  31. your basset hound quilt is just beautiful!! I'd love to see that done with the no fray method!! I have that elephant fabric (caravan) and used it in a quilt that I made for my daughter's best friend (her favorite animals are elephants). Thanks for sharing!! Hugs, H

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  32. thanks for sharing. I have tried the hand applique similar to this called "tile quilts" but it takes me way too long. This method looks much easier and I love the result.

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  33. Pretty cool! Thanks for sharing with us!

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  34. What a fun process! My mother would love this quilt. We had a Bassett named Cleo while I was growing up. :) They're such sweet dogs. Thanks for sharing your technique!

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  35. This is beautiful!
    I know what hubby means about the butcher's diagrams, but I do not think it looks like that at all. (And Wilbur rump would be very tough and chewy!)
    I never would have thought to run the perle cottom line around first, but I can see how it makes sense.
    I am more and more intrigued by Lara's book. No fraying? Seriously?

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  36. revisiting your tutorial, I just love it. I feel a ticker tape project coming in my future. Ive been thinking about cityscapes and how this process could work...we shall see. Thanks again, your tutorial page is awesome!

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  37. Very interesting! All these years, and I haven't seen that anywhere until now. I loved reading about the process you used and the decisions you made.

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