Pictorial Art Quilt Guidebook: Secrets to Capturing Your Photos in Fabric

by Leni Levenson Wiener

Overview

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to transform a photo into gallery-worthy fabric art with Leni Wiener’s simple methods. Leni walks you step by step through choosing the right fabrics; creating patterns with free software; depicting common elements, such as grass, trees, water, and faces; layering and sewing your collages; and finishing your work for display. Complete patterns and instructions for two quilts help get you started. Use the included Art Quilter’s Value Scale to choose the perfect light and dark fabrics for your quilts. Loaded with helpful photos, this guide is a virtual art class in a book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607057444
Publisher:	C & T Publishing
Publication date:	07/07/2014
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Leni Levenson Wiener is an art quilter, instructor, and author. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally and appears in compilation books of art quilts. Leni lives just outside of New York City with her husband. 

Table of Contents

Introduction Section One: Setting the Stage Demystifying Color Throw away that color wheel, here is all you need to know about color Color Basics Color Recipes Color Temperature Complimentary Colors Why is it so important to establish a compliment for a color? Color Terminology The problem children of the color world—gray, beige and taupe Moving away from realistic color The True Value of Understanding Value What is value? How to Determine Value Zingers Print Density and Value Changes in Value Value and Color Compliments Pattern and Print Scale Small, Medium and Large Scale Prints Size Matters The Unexpected Solids, Batiks and Hand-dyes Building a Stash of Fabrics for Art Quilts What to look for in the Fabric Shop Organizing your Palette How much to purchase When to buy by the Bolt Section Two: Making an Art Quilt Step by Step Introduction Choosing a Photo Deciding on the Size of your Art Quilt Preparing your Image Making and Printing your Pattern from a Photo Getting Started with Gimp How to use Gimp Printing your Full Sized Pattern Making an Art Quilt, Step by Step Breaking your Composition into Elements Breaking the Elements into Sections Establishing Values in the Pattern Deciding on Color Choosing Fabrics Cutting the Pieces Freezer Paper Light Box or Other Light Source Tracing onto Freezer Paper Cutting the Fabric Pieces Evaluating and Making Changes When Things Go Wrong Tracing Paper Template Gluing it Together Tips in this section The next element, the boy The Tree Adding the Surrounding Environment Finishing your Art Quilt Batting or No Batting Backing Fabric Functional Sewing Edge Finishing   Art Quilt Process Checklist   Section Three: Tips and Tricks for Common Elements   Introduction   Land and Sea Trees Leaves Grass Water Rocks Distance Sky   People Skin tones Eyes Lips Hands Hair Body Language Afghan Girl Animals Fur Feathers Beaks and Feet Reptiles Eyes Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

Anyone interested in creating pictorial quilts based on photos would benefit from this book. Leni takes the reader through all the steps of creating an art quilt from making and printing a pattern to finishing your work. Along the way she shares valuable information on color, value, and fabric selection, as well as tricks for creating common elements used in landscapes and portraits.

November/December 2014 Machine Quilting Unlimited

Pictorial Art Quilts look impressive and complex and here, Leni Levenson Wiener covers the requirements for making successful quilts of this type. Rather than solely concentrating on technique, the thinking behind creating pictorial quilts is explored in some depth. A strong focus is placed on the use of values in fabric choices, which quite often make or break an image. Under the Setting the Stage section, colour choice is considered alongside values and the choice of patterned and printed fabric. Moving into the actual construction of a quilt, you are taken through the stages, from making and printing a pattern from your photo, which can be done on Photoshop (by using Cutout in the Filter Gallery) or a free download called Gimp, which the author finds easier to use and teach with. You are taught to print out a full sized picture of your desired quilt size and then start to plan the pattern and colours. As raised previously, value is of great importance in this technique and Leni Levenson Wiener has included an Art Quilter’s Value Scale in the book to help you choose fabrics that match those in the original image. It is a card that can be cut out of the book and has 12 different values that you lay alongside your pattern to discern what scale each value in the image is, which you can then use against your fabric to ensure the same value is achieved. This is a very useful piece of kit, especially if value has always seemed an indecipherable concept. The mechanics of putting together all your pieces is covered in illustrated steps and there are little asides and notes to give you useful tips and hints to help troubleshoot or simplify the process, if it’s getting too complicated. Once the main body of the book is dealt with, there is a third section which covers common elements in pictorial quilts such as trees, the sky, water or rocks, animals, feathers, eyes and skin tone, to name a few. This ensures that the approach to most of the subjects of such quilts will be covered, whatever is chosen. There are plenty of photos throughout to show how cleverly selected fabric assists in the creation of texture and pattern for elements such as hair, leaves and water. A good book for anyone wanting to explore this type of quilting.

September 2014 Workshop on the Web

Transform your photos into gallery-worthy fabric art by following Leni’s simple methods. She will show you how to choose the right fabric, create patterns with free software, depict common elements (such as grass, trees, water and faces), layer and sew your collages, and finish your work for display. There are complete patterns and instructions for two quilts, as well as an "Art Quilter’s Value Scale" to help you with fabric selection.

June 2014 Quilter's Digest

Nothing is as charming as capturing a loved one or a special place in a quilt. If you have always wanted to do just that, but didn’t know where to start, then Leni Levenson Wiener’s book Pictorial Art Quilt Guidebook: Secrets to Capturing Your Photos in Fabric has most of the answers you are looking for. Leni says “throw away your color wheel” then proceeds to tell you just what you need to know about color and value. You will also enjoy her take on fabric, building your stash and when to use what pattern or print. Work from your favorite photo or, to begin with, use the complete patterns and instructions included for two projects found in the book. Everything you need to know to create your own art quilt is covered in this well thought out book. Leni even offers links to free software that will help you design your pattern. Leni’s method uses freezer paper for the pattern pieces and once cut they are glued in place with just a tiny dot of fabric glue. Once finished you will need to decide if you want to add batting or not. There are instructions for stretching your piece onto canvas stretchers.

11/3/14 The Applique Society Newsletter

I have a fondness for collage, and this highly usable, user-friendly guidebook teaches you how to take a photo and translate it into a fabric collage. Leni Weiner’s premise is that the photo frees her from figuring out the proportions, perspective, light and shadows. Using a photo, Leni creates a full-size pattern, traces sections onto freezer paper and uses the pieces to cut fabric. (One tip Leni shares is to use the free program GIMP to work with your photos.) Leni divides the book into three sections. First, you will learn about color (without needing your color wheel), value, print and scale. She has a wonderful value scale of gradations in gray, from white to black, so you can identify what value your fabric is. With the fundamentals in place, Leni takes you step-by-step through making an art quilt from a photo. When you are ready to venture on your own, you can use her practical ways to approach common elements, such as trees, rocks, and animal and people features. An additional project is also included. I cannot wait to delve more deeply into the process.

11/11/14 Professional Quilter Magazine