While the weather here bounced around from 12 to 50 degrees I was revisiting the Smoky Mountains in fabric. I settled on an arrangement of my faux paper strips, sewed them down, and cobbled a way to finish the edges. I used no batting, but fused Decor Bond to my foundation fabric, and it’s a good thing I did. The finished product is heavy and might buckle without that extra firmness.
Because the fabric strips were three layers thick (top fabric, fusing, interfacing) I elected to trim up the side edges and sew some twill tape to them. I pressed the edges to the back and hand sewed them down. The top edge got the same treatment, while the bottom edge, which is only one layer thick, got turned under.
This project came with a bonus. I bypassed my scraps bins for the trimmings and created another small piece with them for this month’s scrap quilt. The base layer is fabric I had silk screened with thickened dye.
The finished product, The Smokies, measures 20 by 25 inches.
The Snarky Quilter 
Really wonderful layers! I think you should share a photo with Quilting Arts mag.
Thanks! Funny you should mention that about QA…
I love the torn edge effect in the Smokies. For me I might have preferred the layers to be wider in the mountains (lower) part of the field than they are in the sky (upper) part. But overall the strata and color changes work very well.
The scrap bonus project is especially fun. I like the addition of the oranges and bronzey golds.
I understand what you’re saying, but when I cut my strips per the article’s instructions I didn’t have a specific effect in mind. And of course I used up all my prepared fabrics so I couldn’t swap strips out easily. If I made it again I would customize the strip width more. Right now I’m adding some wonky cross stitches to the bonus project before I quilt it.
Gorgeous. I love using scraps for sp
ontaneous projects.
Many thanks. Yeah, scrap projects are my besetting sin.
Love both pieces
Thanks!
I think that piece is incredibly effective!
Sometimes simplicity works better than complexity.