There are 4 pieces in the nose….

I thought I should talk a little about the fabric I use. I don’t wash the fabric prior to use. I need the sizing in the fabric to prevent the fabric from unraveling. My portraits are raw edge appliqué and in my humble opinion there is nothing worse than a "fluffy" portrait. I use really…

This is an illustration of how I place the pieces accurately on the appliqué. The tracing paper pattern is placed over the image on the appliqué mat and each piece is layered prior to pressing. I use the edge of my scissors or tweezers to get the pieces in place. Sometimes the piece is very…

I’m beginning to layer the shades, paying close attention to the details in my original picture.There are eight layers of appliqué on the face and  three in hair at this stage. Of course the neck and the neck shading was the first to go down. I have worked from the background to the foreground. Now…

One of the most difficult aspects of creating a portrait in fabric is to find the correct skin color. I often use a variety of Batik fabrics, but recently I have been using a Hoffman fabric by Mckenna Ryan. The fabric is graduated and I can get double the use out of it because I…

I’m going to share with you how I create a portrait…. This is the pen drawing I made for this portrait. There is much more to it and I won’t reveal the real picture until the portrait is completed. I have traced the image from a photo onto a good quality tracing paper. As you…