Curve & Play – Modern Curved Piecing + Raw Edge Appliqué
One simple shape, two completely different techniques — and one seriously good-looking pillow.
In this one-day workshop with Brigitte Heitland (Zen Chic), you’ll create a 16” × 16” modern pillow built from a graphic 3 × 3 grid of Drunkard’s Path-inspired blocks. But there’s a twist: some of those curves are pieced, while others are created with raw edge machine appliqué.
Working with colorful solids, we’ll use the same bold quarter-circle shape to explore both techniques side by side. You’ll make five curved-pieced blocks, giving you enough repetition to get comfortable with sewing curves, and four raw edge appliqué blocks, learning how to prepare, position and stitch clean graphic shapes.
Highlights:
• Learn curved piecing step by step — without fear of the curve
• Make five curved blocks so the technique starts to feel natural
• Explore raw edge machine appliqué with four additional blocks
• See how the same shape behaves differently when pieced or appliquéd
• Work with color and block orientation to create a bold modern composition
• Turn all nine blocks into a finished 16” × 16” pillow
Who is this class for?
This workshop is for quilters who love modern design and want to add both curved piecing and raw edge appliqué to their toolbox. You don’t need to be a curve expert — that’s exactly why we’re making several blocks. Repetition is what turns that slightly suspicious-looking curved seam into just another seam.
The project is compact enough to tackle in a day, while giving us enough room to really practice both techniques rather than simply trying each one once.
A Little Extra
Brigitte’s sample pillow also features bold hand-quilted running stitches following selected curves. This decorative stitching is not a main teaching component of the workshop, but Brigitte will show how she uses it to add another graphic layer to the finished design — and you can add it to your own pillow if time allows or later at home.
The Setting
This is a full-day hands-on workshop at The Quilt Crossing in Boise, Idaho. We’ll move from individual blocks through composition and assembly, with the goal of leaving class with a finished — or very nearly finished — modern pillow.
Location: The Quilt Crossing, 10959 W Fairview Ave, Boise, ID 83713
Registration: Through The Quilt Crossing, laura@quiltcrossing.com
Class Duration: 1 day