Using vintage linens and working in a collage style presents some challenging problems. Certain traditional quilt methods of assembly just don’t work well with my creative visions and materials of choice. If you’ve visited my booth at a quilt show, you’ll know that I sell quite a few dyed vintage damask table linens. Many of them have a nice finished edge that I want to preserve while using them in a collage. I am still trying to come up with an easy way to bind all the layers and not lose that finished edge. Today, I am embarking on my latest attempt at this quest.
Starting with a medium size dyed damask napkin that will be the base of the collage, I picked out a couple of smaller squares on which to stitch scrap compositions. These smaller squares will be similar to the 4 x 4” square that I have been featuring in previous posts. The next step was to select scraps to add to the little squares:
![](https://ragspaperstitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200409a-539x640-1-253x300.jpg)
I pulled out more scraps than I’ll be able to use in this project, but that’s OK – it is good to have more to choose from during the early planning stages. Next, I started working with the wool square. Several little scraps jumped out at me, and the placement of them came together quickly.
![](https://ragspaperstitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200409c-554x640-1-260x300.jpg)
Notice that all the pieces are separate from each other. How would they look with a piece of fabric underneath (other than the background) that connected them together?
![](https://ragspaperstitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200409b-621x640-1-291x300.jpg)
I like the second version, the additional piece of fabric adds another layer of interest. I’m going to take a look at some trims and funky yarns to add, as I think I’m ready to start stitching this one over the next couple of days.
I invite you to follow along in my quest over the next week or so, will this work out, or be a dead end? This will also be another look into my creative process.