Linen Closet: Palm Tree Hawaiian Appliqué

And Bigger Still  (3 of 3)

So, the basic unit for a Hawaiian quilt is the square. And the bigger the square the more detail you can create at the cutting stage. But the biggest challenge is to retain those great details. Remember that in appliqué of any variety you are turning under the edge and blind stitching to prevent fraying. Points, interior and exterior curves and intersections can be most vexing.

This pattern is called Coconut Palm 
from Vicky Fleming's book, Hawaiian Appliqué.

When I did decide to go bigger, I created a wall hanging with simple lines that felt like California to me... palm trees. In off white and a sage green fabrics, the threads for each fabric match the colors on which they appear and the lines of quilting move outward from the appliquéd pieces in the "echo" effect. I kept the quilting on the palms simple as well, with a line around the edges and very little other detailing.

And thus began my experimentation with this special appliqué technique.