Anyone who works in fabric collage ends up with a pile of odd little pieces that already have fusible on the back. Lynn Christiansen of Emerald Falls Quilts turns hers into a fall banner, and nothing on it is sewn.
It starts with a walk. Pick leaves from trees and bushes, or gather colored ones from the ground, but pass over any that are fully brown and dry, because they crumble when you trace them. Trace each leaf onto ordinary kitchen parchment paper, holding it flat with your fingers, and leave ¼ to ½ inch between shapes so the fabrics for one leaf never creep onto the next.
Her scraps are backed with Steam-A-Seam 2, which stays tacky once the paper comes off. She trims them smaller, peels them and sticks them over each traced leaf, overlapping so there are no gaps and every line is covered. She keeps it to four layers or fewer, since more adds bulk. For the optional word "grateful," she flips the traced letters so the pencil is on the back and the letters read the right way, which also keeps the line visible under dark fabric.
At the ironing board, over a wool mat, she presses each spot for two to three seconds and lifts the iron rather than sliding it, because sliding shifts the scraps and opens holes. Then she cuts each shape out on the line.
The backing is felt, and the fiber matters. Lynn uses a blend that is 80% wool, because 100% synthetic craft felt can melt under the iron. She places each leaf with at least ½ inch of felt around it, presses gently, then spritzes with a spray bottle and holds for three to five seconds, since the fusible is only permanent once steam reaches it. When it cools, she cuts about ¼ inch outside the shape.
To hang it, she threads thin ribbon through a size 22 chenille needle, in one side of each leaf and out the other, so the ribbon lies flat across the back. Short grosgrain ties, 4½ inches long and cut at an angle so they fray less, go between the leaves.
If your scrap bin is past fused pieces and into everything else, our guide to scrap quilt patterns and sorting your scraps picks up from there. Lynn's full walkthrough, including the letters, is in her video on the Emerald Falls Quilts channel.
