A Sneak Peek with Batiks

A few weeks ago, a bundle of fabric called Bali Pop Watermelon caught my eye at my local quilt shop and said "Buy me!" The pinks, purples and greens were very appealing but I had never worked with batiks before. Could I do this? Sure, I told myself!

Bali Pop Watermelon by Hoffman Fabrics

I came home and started researching quilting with batik fabrics. What were the pros and cons of this type of material? Some people said batiks are prone to colors running in the wash and others said they never had a problem with Bali Pops doing this. There were suggestions on different laundry products to use - Synthrapol in the wash before cutting and sewing or Retayne after the piece is sewn. Or try Shout Color Catchers. But because the Bali Pops are pre-cut 2-1/2" wide strips, I didn't want to pre-wash them. This was gonna be a cross-my-fingers-and-hope-nothing-goes-wrong project because I won't wash it until after I have sewn it all together. I did find the Shout Color Catchers at Wal-mart and will give them a try.

Then I needed to decide on a pattern. I saw a pattern (aka "recipe") on the Moda Bake Shop website that I really liked and thought would work nicely with the Bali Pops. Have I committed an egregious sin by using the pattern from one fabric company with the fabric of another? Oh, I hope not. I love Moda fabrics and they are always one of my first choices but I really wanted to make something with the Bali Pops. Maybe I will use a Moda fabric for the backing. Does that get me out of hot water?

On a post earlier this week, I shared a cutting tip I learned. Here's why I needed an easier and faster way for cutting lots of pieces. If you look at the pattern, there are lots and lots of little squares that need to get cut and sewn together. Each of the bright pink squares are 2" wide and I needed over two hundred of them for this project, not to mention cutting all of the patterned fabric, too.

First Completed Batik Square

Square Number Two

I am really liking the vibrancy of the colors and the designs in the batik fabrics. I still have a lot of work before this project is completed so you'll have to settle for this sneak peek for the time being. It is slow going matching up all of these corners!