Farsi I-Wall quilt

I can’t exactly remember when I created the Farsi I wall quilt, but I do know that it has been admired by “sew” many, at every show that I have attended. For years, I kept reminding myself to create a pattern for it, but that time never came around. With such an overwhelming demand for its blueprint, I think it is time that I sit down and share how I made it. For those who are new to my website and or to machine embroidery, I do have the project in works to upload to my website, along with the designs for purchase.

Farsi I collection was my interpretation of persian designs, commonly found on Mosques, buildings and or carpets. I know that when I was creating the collection, I had a hard time deciding the final designs. The wall quilt was my rendition of how I see the designs on the various buildings etc., except that my designs have a bit of a modern twist to them. The original persian designs often have a lot of vines and filigree type work, which I omitted from my designs.

The wall quilt has three center panels and two panels as borders, at the top and bottom. The only one design that is not from the original collection is the vase, which is from the Topiaries collection. (Note to self: make it a free sample after writing the instructions for the wall quilt) I stitched out the designs on black Dupioni silk and used cotton batiks for applique. My suggestion to others is that unless you feel comfortable in working with silk, it would be best to use quilting cottons. If you do use cottons, may I also suggest that you pre-wash all fabrics.

The center panel uses only two designs: the vase from topiaries and Farsi Il (ell)design. Farsi Il design is stitched out twice, mirror-imaged. The stitching sequence starts from the top down, meaning that the vase is the last one stitched out in the panel. To start off, cut out three panels (for center) measuring 9 1/2″ x 19″. Personally, I like to cut out my fabric larger than the finished size, to compensate for any pulling from the embroidery. Although these are applique designs, there is no fear of any fabric pulling, yet I like to be on the safe side, considering the large size of the design. The best way to ensure that the designs are centered, I mark my center panels in half, horizontally and vertically. Coupled with this, I highly recommend that true size templates be printed of all designs, even the mirror-imaged ones.

I’ve shown the template of placement of designs on the right with lines drawn down the center. The complete design itself measures 5 1/2″ x 17.25″. Printing off the templates and placing them together gives you a good idea on the placement of the designs. As we stitch from the top down, you will stitch out the first Farsi Il (ell) design, using the printed out template. The next stitch out will be Farsi Il which is mirror imaged, to be followed by the urn design (from topiaries collection).

The side panels are stitched out twice, mirror imaged. Designs used for the side panels are: Farsi Ii and Farsi Ih. Farsi I i was mirror imaged with Farsi Ih in the center and Farsi Iz at the bottom. Moreover, Farsi Ih and top Farsi Ii were rotated slightly for placement. Again, print out the templates and place on fabric, noting the center markings, when stitching out the designs.

Now I know that many home embroidery machines have much larger hoops now then when I first designed the collection, so go ahead and join as many designs in your software before sending to the machine, if that is an easy method for you. To understand about paper templates, click on the embroidery tutorials on my website.

Once the three center panels are embroidered, this is a good time to measure and determine the finished size for all three. I used batik fabrics (so much more interesting) for the appliques as well as border around the panels. The border around the panels is approximately 2″ finished, so cut out strips, depending upon your seams.

The top and bottom panels are identical, and they are also mirror-imaged. Designs used here are: Farsi Ib, Farsi Iv and Farsi Im. Designs are rotated slightly for positioning. Farsi Im is the last stitch-out, with Farsi Ib and Iv mirror imaged on either side. Continuity of the design is with Farsi Iv, which acts as a joiner between the two Farsi Ib on each side and as accent behind Farsi Im. Sound confusing…LOL, yes it probably is, but trust me, when you print out the templates, it was start to make sense.

The bottom and top panels depend upon the width of the three center panels, along with the sashing/borders. I stitched out the complete design in three segments, based upon my largest hoop size, as the complete design is approximately 27″x7″. The basting box markings that you see in my blueprint on the right were to allow  me to make the placements without any extra mathwork.

The wall quilt final measurements depend upon the width of the sashings and your preference. As earlier stated, I am working on uploading the project, with designs pre-arranged and marked for easy stitching, on my website. Meantime, for those who already have the Farsi I designs, this may be an incentive for creativity! Happy embroidering!