Metropolis – Thread Painting

      19 Comments on Metropolis – Thread Painting

This is my October Island Batik ambassador challenge. The challenge is it use Island Batik fabrics and Aurifil thread to make a thread painting project. October was a very busy month, but I got this project done just hours before midnight!

I got a bundle of Metropolis, a spring/summer 2020 IB collection designed by Kathy Engle. The first idea that came to me for this collection was a city skyline – fairly obvious for a collection called Metropolis! With warm gold and browns, and bold geometric prints, this collection seems prefect for a city skyline reflecting the warm autumn sun.

I came up with this design after sketching a few buildings on grid paper. The bridge on the right is inspired by the red bridge in a Paul Klee painting. I wanted a waterfront for the city so that I can use the threads to “paint” their reflections. The background is an Island Batik basic called butter.

  • An extra layer of wool batting for the buildings in “front”
  • One layer of wool batting for all buildings
I wanted the buildings is pop out from the background. I used multiple layers of wool batting for a trapunto style raised effect.
Auditioning thread colors for outlining the buildings and for their reflections
All threads are Aurifil 50 weight cotton, generously provided by Aurifil as part of the Island Batik Ambassador project.
Sky detail with clouds – quilted using canary.
Water detail with reflection of buildings. I used spearmint for the water and the reflections match the buildings.
Another detail showing the house fabric in hunter green. I cut around the roof tops and quilted the outlines of the houses with dark green thread. Note the brick work quilting on the bridge.

Fabric: Island Batik “Metropolis” designed by Kathy Engle.
Thread: Aurifil 50 weight Mako cotton
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom wool (scraps) and Hobbs heirloom 100% cotton white
Needles: Schmetz “nonstick” needles (just perfect when using fusibles)

19 thoughts on “Metropolis – Thread Painting”

  4. thedarlingdogwood

    Love the quilted reflection in the water!!!!! Very cool. I also love the clouds in the sky. This feels very sophisticated.

    Reply ↓
  5. rl2b2017

    Hi Vasudha! Non-stick needles?!! Seriously?? I love Schmetz needles but never heard of non-stick ones. Well I’ll be dipped. I am going to look for those right this minute or faster than that. Now, back to your post – LOVE this. This is so cool. I love all the texture you created in the sky, and the skyline is fab. Really nice job with the perfect fabric choices. Gotta run before I forget about the needles. HAHA! ~smile~ Roseanne

    Reply ↓
  9. Kathleen McCormick

    This is stunning, Vashuda! You did such a great job and the thread painting really makes it perfect.

    Reply ↓
  10. Andrée G Faubert

    Hi Vasudha, how amazing! Your thread painted piece is really great. The extra batting for the houses really make them pop. Your sky and water are so full of movement. I really hope that you will come by and link this one up too, to Free Motion Mavericks. Congrats on your finish. Take care.

    Reply ↓
  18. Jennifer

    So many great choices here! Love your quilting. The thread painting and the extra batting add just the right touch of dimensionality. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply