"bula" the cow

fabric: 

sky           3- fabrics  ft eighth of each  stripe, polka dot, floral 

flowers    3- fabrics  ft eighth each purple-  light, medium, dark                   1- fabric   ft  eighth yellow  

grass        3- fabrics  ft eighth each  green- light, medium, dark 

cow          3 - fabrics  ft quarters each brown- light, medium, dark backing/binding     1-1/4 yards  black (dark is best for backing fabric) 

misc: 

pellon wonder under 805 fusible       3 - 4 yards 

quilters dream cotton batting fusible    24” x 28” 

threads– cotton, poly or rayon  metallic (optional) 

machine needles– 80/12, titanium works great with fused projects 

fabric & paper scissors, freezer paper, ziploc bags, L-shaped square ruler blue painters tape, 2 white beads for eyes 

bula’s construction 

prep work: 

• fuse- cow, sky, grass, flower &  a piece of  black- 9” x 11”  fabrics, set aside 
•  fuse backing fabric to fusible batting,  let cool 
• draw a squared corner with L-shaped ruler on batting/ backing sandwich, place ruler in left corner about 1” - 2” away from edge, draw with pencil  across top and down left side, use lines as guide for placement   
• lay design on table & tape with blue tape 
•  lay freezer paper on top of  design, paper side up, tape & draw  cow and flowers 
•  label all parts with letters, #, name, seam allowance on freezer paper template 
•  cut apart freezer paper template’s and place them in ziploc bags and label by name/number cow: 
• choose which light-medium-dark brown fabric for each part of  cow  
•  lay freezer paper template on fabric side of fused fabric, pin or iron down to fabric making sure paper back of fusible is still in tact 
• draw with pencil on fabric or just cut around template  
• pull paper off back of fusible before cutting-this gives a cleaner cut of fabric, cut with seam allowance included, keep template attached 
•  cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to assemble cow, lay parchment  paper over main design to create with accuracy,   
• assemble cow by matching template/fabric together for fusing, tap fuse for temporary hold   
• compare size to main design, when happy fuse sections together  
• add eyes and inner ear parts after cow is assembled 

background 

sky: 

• cut & tape parchment paper 20” x 24” to lay over whole design 
• cut sky fabric into curvy or straight  strips in different widths and lengths to create sky  
• lay out sky according to design layout area, overlapping 1/4” for fusing 
• fill in some of the area where cow will rest to be trimmed when placement of cow is determined flowers/grass: 
• cut out and create individual flowers with same fusing technique as cow 
• overlap pieces together & tap fuse until happy with flower shape/size  add grasses by placing pieces of green fabrics under flowers where needed  
• lay flowers on parchment paper over main design to make sure flowers line up 
• when happy with layout of flowers/grass tap fuse together  

trim sky/flower/grass area to size of background perimeter & around cow shape lay cow on top of the base design of sky/flowers/grass when happy with arrangement fuse with dry iron, let cool lay fused backing/batting piece with non fused batting side up on ironing table  peel design off parchment paper and lay on batting/backing, fuse with dry iron final fuse with steam, let cool quilt using complimentary threads, add a white  bead to cow eyes to create realism use metallic threads for some bling (optional) facing binding technique used 

If you have any questions about the workshop please email me at cynthia@fiberartchix.com © copyright Cynthia Wismann www.fiberartchix.com