Bondaweb your chicken and quilt it

Here is the tuorial about how to use Bondaweb which is a fabric glue on a dissolvable web with a paper backing. There are other makes of a similar product, but this is the one I find easiest to use.

First draw your hen and chicks, just a simple shape is best to start with. Look in children's books, birthday cards, magazines for shapes and inspiration...

Pattern for hen and chicks by Green Star Quilts

Put your bondweb sheet over your pattern with it's paper backing uppermost. The glue side feels bumpy, the paper side feels smooth. Remember that your finished fabric shape will be the mirror image of your drawing, so turn it over if you want the hen facing the other way. Trace  round all the pieces of your pattern through the Bondaweb with a pencil.

Bondaweb tracing

Bondaweb shapes drawn out

Carefully cut around the shapes leaving a tiny margin at the edges. Handle the Bondaweb gently to stop the backing peeling off. Place your Bondaweb shapes bumpy (glue) side down on the back of your fabric. Iron carefully with a hot iron, no steam, and protect your iron by using baking parchment over the shapes just in case you have put one down glue side upwards, in which case it will stick to your iron.... trust me, I have done this loads of times!

Bondaweb shapes ironed onto fabric

Allow to cool down from the iron's heat, then cut your shapes out with sharp scissors on the pencil line.

Fabric shapes with Bondaweb backs

Peel the backing paper off the back of the shapes

paper backing is peeled off the shape

Now you are ready to place your shapes on the main fabric of the quilt, positioning them where you would like them to be on the finished quilt top.

Fabric shapes ironed onto quilt top

Iron them down carefully, using the baking parchment between your iron and the fabric. This helps to stop the pieces moving and protects your iron. Add the hen and chicks wings by repeating the ironing method.
Now your pieces are ready to be stitched down. I use free motion stitching but if you are not confident you can use a straight stitch slowly on these simple shapes.
When your hen and chicks are stitched down, you need to add some legs...

Chick with legs by Green Star Quilts

Now you are ready to layer up the quilt top with the wadding and backing fabric and quilt the whole top. 

I will show you the finished quilt in the next post. Have you been able to follow this tutorial ? I don't write many and hope I haven't missed out anything! If you are still bemused by Bondaweb and your pieces are stuck to the iron, do leave a comment and I will answer on the comments page...

I hope this is all helpful, I love this method and use it on most of my quilts,

Happy stitching this week,

Kind regards,

Sue