Talavera Tiles Wall Hanging Embroidery Project

Cut 12 6” squares of PDF Kona Cloth and your Bosal Stable-Batt or equivalents. For each block, you will need no show stabilizer in the hoop as well as one square of your Kona cloth and batting.

Run color stop (CS) 1 in white as a placement line for the batting.

Spray adhesive on the batting and position over the placement line so that the batting exceeds the placement line by ½” on all side. Run CS 2 in white to tack down the batting.

Trim the batting as close as possible to the tack down lines.

Spray adhesive on the Kona cloth square and position it over the batting so that the fabric exceeds the outlines by ½” in all directions. Run CS 3 and to tack down the fabric.

Run the embroidery design. Some designs will only have a single color – black polyester thread A couple of the blocks in this series have a blue color change before the back run if so run both of those colors.

Please read the article on “Tips for Painting Embroidery with Intense Ink Pens” for an explanation of the techniques.

When your block is completely painted set it aside for at least 24 hours.

The colors you paint the blocks are up to you and what you have available. The colors used in the sample are:
Cherry 0510
Apple Green 1400
Golden Yellow 0230
Bright Blue 1000
Peacock Blue 00820
Hookers Green1520
Hot Red 0410
Iris blue 0900
Deep Blue 0850
Chinese Ink 2030
Cadmium Orange 0250
Deep Indigo 1100

Each area to be painted in these designs is outlined with the black embroidery except there was not a reasonable way to outline the yellow gold dots in the center of each of the designs that contain the blue embroidered pattern fill. Spread a little fabric medium at the center of each of the squares formed by the patterned fill. With a sharp golden yellow pencil make a little dot in the center of each of those squares.

When all of your tiles are painted the trim the fabric seam allowances to ½” from the original water-soluble tack down lines. You will later trim these seam allowances to ¼” but it is easier to work with the ½” seam allowance as you sew the blocks together.

To reduce bulk in the seam cut away the stabilizer with small scissors around each block.

Precision alignment of the tack down lines to seam the blocks together is critical to this project as in many cases the blocks are embroidered and painted right to the blocks edges. The double pinning method is used to ensure this alignment. To do this place two blocks right side together. Stick a pin vertically right through the corner stitch on the back side of one block. Stick the pin vertically through the second block right through the corner stitch. The place a horizontal pin close the vertical pin. Repeat for the second corner of the blocks. The horizontal pins were placed in the seam allowances of these blocks to avoid piercing through any painted areas of the blocks. Stitch the blocks together right over the water-soluble thread tack down 

Join the third block to the two blocks sewn together in the same manner. Trim the stitched seam allowances to ¼”. Make 4 rows of three blocks.

Press the seam allowances in alternating directions on each for. That is press all the seam allowances on the 1st and 3rd rows to the right and all seam allowances on the 2nd 4th rows to the left.

Join the rows to each other using the same pinning techniques to ensure that all of the blocks line up. Trim the horizontal seams to ¼”.

For the borders cut 2 strips of black fabric 3 ½” wide the width of the material and then cut them in half horizontally to have 4 3 ½” strips about 22 long. Cut 4 Strips of batting 3” wide the width of the batting.

Spray adhesive on the batting strips and align the right edges of each batting strip with the right edge of a border strip. This will leave you a ½” seam allowance along the left-hand side of each strip. Trim off any additional batting at the end of each strip.

Pin or clip the seam allowance of two strips to the sides of the center panel having several inches of excess border strip above and below the center panel. Stitch the strips along the water-soluble tack down lines of the center panel. Trim the seam allowances to ¼” and press these seams towards the border.

Trim the excess border strips even with the top and bottom of the center panel. Repeat steps 19 and 20 to attach the border strips across the top and bottom of the center panel.

Cut a backing for the quilt 2” wider and 2” taller than the measurements of your wall hanging.

With invisible thread in the bobbin and top of your sewing machine stitch in the ditch on all seam lines of the center panel with a 3mm straight stitch.

If the desired echo stitch around the center panel with straight lines going around the whole rectangle using your presser foot as a guide.

Squaring up your wall hanging trim the border down to 2 ½” from the edges of the center block.

Cut two 5” squares of any coordinating fabric to make simple hangers for the wall quilt. Fold them in half diagonally and press.  

Cut 3 2 ¼” strips of the Robert Kaufman South of the Border Stripes for the binding.

Baste the two folded triangles onto the top corners of the quilt, raw edges even, with a 1/8” seam allowance.

Bind the quilt using your favorite method.

Throw the wall hanging into the dryer set on high for 50 minutes to heat set the ink.

Cut a 14” length of a 3/8” wooden dowel and slip it under the triangular corners to hang your wall hanging.

Congratulations your hand painted Talavera Tiles Wall Hanging is complete!