CREATING A COLOURFUL CRAB WITH FABRIC COLLAGE

Inspiration for textile art often comes from the smallest corners of nature. South Africa’s tidal pools are teeming with fascinating little creatures that are so easily overlooked! These cuties are wonderful inspiration for me but of course, being an artist, I have the freedom to recreate them in any medium or colour. Being a fibre artist makes it even better! I can use fabric to create colourful crabs. That is exactly what I did.

COLOURFUL CRAB

I have a fabric stash that is ever so inviting when I start a new fabric collage! My fabrics are grouped in containers and when I stand in front of the cupboard where they live, an explosion of colour awaits me. It is so easy to feel overwhelmed by which fabrics to choose. I think all of us have that problem!

My best advice here is to have a really good reference picture of colourful crabs. These are easily available on copyright-free websites such as Unsplash and Pixabay. Even if you don’t find a crab that is exactly what you want, it is still helpful to have a reference picture that shows the high and low areas of the carapace. This helps when creating dimensional work.

I also look through my scraps to see if I have fabrics already prepared from previous projects. Sometimes even the smallest piece, correctly applied, can give the crab a completely different look.

Always remember: there is no right or wrong fabric! Often a fabric that looks “wrong” is simply too bold or too bright. That piece might work perfectly in your next project (and believe me, you are going to want to create more crabs — it’s addictive!). Therefore, never throw any fabric away. Keep those scraps!

When I design a fabric collage pattern, a lot of the behind-the-scenes work can be quite frustrating. I first have to find a suitable reference picture and then decide on the size of my critter. Once I start drawing the pattern, I have to decide which parts must overlap and I have to design it in a way that makes the process easy for my students so they don’t have to worry about those details.

After my rough sketch is done, I tweak the pattern and make sure everything works. I then draw up a pattern sheet where all the parts are carefully numbered — there can be no confusion! Once this part is complete, I can start concentrating on finding the right colours for my crab. This means looking for fabrics with prints that resemble the carapace and claws of a crab. Of course, I don’t always stick to this… anything goes! With such a wide range of fabrics available, this part can be quite time-consuming.

WORK IN PROGRESS PINK CRAB (left) & WORK IN PROGRESS GREEN CRAB (right)

Once the fabrics are chosen, cut out and prepared, it’s time for the next step — one that I love almost as much as the collage itself: thread painting! It’s amazing how a bit of thread painting helps to blend some of the fabrics together. The free-motion quilting is also part of the fun and I usually try to use a quilting pattern that enhances the theme of the work (in this case, I used bubbles/pebbles for the crab).

CHOOSE THE FMQ PATTERN TO ENHANCE THE WORK

Needless to say, creating fabric collages is becoming one of my favourite things to do — and to teach! My students love playing with their favourite fabrics and creating beautiful artworks. I hope you are inspired to try your hand at fabric collages! Keep an eye on my website as I am planning to make the crab pattern and instructions, available to you soon!

Happy stitching till next time!