Book Review: 318 Patchwork Patterns

There are so many great book reviews going on right now!  I was very excited to be invited to join in the fun for Sumiko Fujita’s 318 Patchwork Patterns. This book is not new. It was originally published in Japanese in 2005. After being out of print and hard to find for years, World Book Media has finally released an English version.

Even though the title is ‘318 Patchwork Patterns,’ the book contains an amazing collection of applique designs too. If you are looking for strict patchwork, check out the other bloggers in the blog hop below. They will knock your socks off.

I am an applique girl at heart, and a collector (hoarder) of Japanese fabrics, so stitching up this little design was a real treat for me.

I think it was part of the inspiration for my Square Dance Daisy Mini Quilt (free pattern).

I’m not a classic needle-turn applique girl either, though. I love modern straight stitch, raw edge applique. So I enlarged and printed the pattern onto some HeatnBond EZ Print sheets, cut out the pieces, and fused them to some of the new Lecien fabrics that I bought at Quilt Market. I only left a seam allowance on the sides of the petals…

so I could piece the flower together before fusing it to my tote pieces. I left the paper backings on for this part too. I think it helped me piece more precisely.

The handles were an experiment. I played around with some kraft-tex from C&T. This stuff is kind of like fabric, they say it’s like leather, and although it looks a bit like paper it’s totally washable. I soaked the strips in boiling water to soften and distress them a bit before I sewed them on with buttons. I’m having lots of fun with the kraft-tex so I’m sure you’ll see it again from me soon.

I’m discovering that the trick to making cute Japanese-looking projects is to use Japanese fabrics. Duh. I think I need to take a trip over there to get a closer look 🙂

See more of my sewing book and product reviews here and see some of my free classic quilt block patterns below.