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Lace Fail

Last month I did do one final Dresden fan patchwork practice piece, which I made from Fabscrap's lace scrap pack, a piece of dark green denim from their cotton multi pack, and some vintage ribbon. As you can see here I didn't complete it, as nothing worked out the way I wanted.

Lace is more difficult to work with in quilting for a variety of reasons. The red and white laces I chose could not be easily pieced together (I was able to handsew the top edges to make the points on the fan blades.) Because of the holes and gaps basting them in place was a headache, too. The bumps and bulges of the lace made layering ribbon over the raw edges (my genius solution for not piecing them together) a pain, and it puckered and bulged.

Alternating blades of solid fabric and lace might work -- I could sew the solid fabric edged over the raw lace edges ala crazy quilt patchwork -- but it wouldn't result in the look I want for the fans.

I might tinker on this idea again in the future, but for now I won't be making a lace Dresden fan quilt.

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