THE BEAUTY OF OUR BIRDS: CELEBRATING SOUTH AFRICAN WILDLIFE THROUGH FABRIC COLLAGE

There’s something deeply magical about capturing the spirit of a wild creature with fabric and thread—especially when it’s one of our own. South Africa’s birdlife is an endless source of inspiration for me and right now, I’m totally enchanted by one of our most flamboyant residents: the lilac-breasted roller or in Afrikaans, the troupant. 

LILAC BREASTED ROLLER 

With its explosion of colour—turquoise, lilac, emerald and rust—it’s a dream subject for fabric collage. I’ve been elbow-deep in scraps and threads lately, developing a new class based on this beautiful bird and it’s reminded me why I love this technique so much. Fabric collage is forgiving, playful and wildly creative. There's no "wrong" piece of fabric—just possibilities waiting to be layered, tucked and stitched into something expressive. Every now and then, one cuts a fabric just to realise that the colours are too bold. Or it might be too red instead of dark pink. It’s not wrong but there might be a better option! 

BREAST, DESIGN TOO BIG     TWIG TOO BUSY 

Of course, before you get to play, there’s a mountain of hard work that happens behind the scenes—believe me! I do all the fiddly bits for you: designing the pattern, figuring out which seam needs to overlap where, testing and tweaking and chopping and changing until it all works. That way, when you sit down to create, it’s a smooth, joyful process instead of a headache. 

STUDIO IN A STATE! 

When I start a piece like this, I always begin with a really good reference picture. There is a bit of tweaking that happens on my laptop, involved here. This time, a friend helped me to have a better understanding of the program that I used. From that, I’ll do a rough sketch, go to my local printer for an enlarged version and then raid my stash for suitable bits: not just colour matches but textures and prints that hint at feathers and movement. 

ENLARGED PICTURE 

One of my favourite parts of the process is auditioning fabric—laying it out, squinting a bit, changing my mind (too often!) and suddenly finding the one that just sings. It’s like painting but with cloth! 

WORK IN PROGRESS 

Once the fabrics are chosen and cut out, it’s time for the next step that I love almost as much as the collage…thread painting! It is amazing how a bit of thread painting helps to blend some of the fabrics! But more about that in my class. 

If you're curious to try fabric collage yourself, here’s a tip I always share with my students: don’t be afraid to mix prints and textures—even a scrap you nearly threw out might be perfect for a tiny highlight or shadow. Let the fabric do some of the storytelling for you. 

This lilac-breasted roller is still a work in progress but oh, it’s giving me joy! Hopefully, once the class is ready, it’ll bring that same joy to others who love stitching, birds or simply playing with fabric as much as I do! 

Happy stitching till next time!