Title: Kantha Kaleidoscope
A kaleidoscope is a device that uses broken shards of glass to refract multiple images into a patchwork of colours. Indian Kantha quilting was originally a way of re-using worn fabrics but the effect it creates is a vividly coloured kaleidoscope of fragments of cloth held together with simple running stitch. This piece is essentially the same design as the one I made in Chris’ workshop but as it would not meet the criterion of being made in the last year, I rummaged through my collection of materials and found enough scraps to make another one. I have been thinking about doing some Kantha work for a while, and this seemed the ideal way to put it into use, although it is purely decorative on this work and has no structural function.
Materials and Techniques:
Merino wool and silk or fabric pre-felted fragments were wet felted on to a black wool base, backed with muslin. (This is a technique I learned from Chris Lines a few years ago.) Some of the pre- felts I used contain sari silks complete with embroidery and beads and a few bits were made by other people (including a couple of tiny bits made by Sheila Smith!) When it was quite dry I then hand quilted over the piece on to black fabric using Indian Kantha stitch. It will either be mounted and framed or used as simple wall hanging for display, or perhaps made into a cushion cover.
Click each image below to enlarge the artwork
