Small boutis (petasson) Finishing

Finally I have finished stuffing this small petasson, and decided to finish it in the traditional way with a taped edge, a "tresse" in French.  All of my old small pieces are finished in this way.  I have made some  pieces myself which I finished with an embroidered edge, or a fancy hem, and large pieces with a straight border have been finished with a small hem, as is tradition.  The tape utilized is a kind of lingerie tape with a knitted effect, not a tight weave twill tape.

I have been taking a few pictures as I went along, to show you how I do this.  I am sure there are many other ways, but this works for me and as far as I can tell, is the traditional method.

Here is the completed stitching, with the excess fabric still attached.

I will be working from the right side initially.

Pattern from Boutis Traditionnel by Christiane Vignal.

Materials used here are my stitching thread (for this small piece I used Gutermann hand quilting thread, 100% cotton.  It is quite strong and fine.  I usually use  Dual Duty handquilting thread with a polyester core, which is very strong).  You can see the white tape I am using for finishing.

I am pinning the edge of the tape to the last line of stitching, working from the front.  You can see that the tape is facing downwards, so I can flip it up and over to the back when the first line of stitching is complete.

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This is the back, you can just see my pin mark on the outer edge through the last line of stitching

 And here it is stitched all the way around.  I use a small back stitch on the edge of the tape (no, I did not whip or use an applique stitch for this part).

The tape will stand up a bit from the work.  Be sure to follow the original stitching line (I stitch exactly on top of it)

Here is the"dangerous" part !!  You have to trim the excess fabric away.  I do this from the front so that I do not accidentally cut into the tape, and I keep the work on a flat surface.  I trim to about 1/4", and I clip the inner curve 3 times - once in the middle, and then one clip either side of that, about 1/8" apart.  Do not clip too close to the stitching.

 All that remains now is to fold the tape to the reverse, and pin.  You will stitch in the "ditch" of the last line of stitching.  I use the applique stitch for this and my same quilting thread.  If some of my seam allowance is peeking underneath the tape I just sweep it in with my needle as I go along.  Alternatively you might trim a little closer (I do not do this).

Just for comparison:  this is an old petasson, reverse side.  You can see how this one is finished with the tape.

I will post a final picture later when I have stitched down the final seam.  The next part will be to wash:   start with a soak in cold water for several hours to remove any remaining marks and help close any needle holes from stuffing, then wash in hot water with a mild detergent or Marseille soap.  Then lay out flat to dry on an absorbent towel.  I turn mine over once the top feels dryer, so that it dries evenly.  Sometimes I will pin to ensure the piece dries straight. 

I use a frixion marker to trace the design, which I remove by running a hairdryer over the piece before washing.  Better than ironing - remember a boutis must never be ironed.  I use this method for my applique too, it avoids the annoying white mark that these markers can leave.

Any questions ?

Here it is pinned, ready to finish

Finshed !

Wrong side view of edge

Complete piece against the light - the true boutis, relief and transparency.  It is now soaking in cold water.

Petassouns, old and new

Recently I was able to acquire two old petassons/petassouns, infant lap pieces, pieces piquees, or whatever name is most familiar to you.  They arrived today, and I am looking at them and thinking over what they can tell me.   Although these are not the work of professionals making very grand pieces in an atelier, they are the kind of work I like best - those made at home for family, showing different levels of needlework skill.
 One is very damaged, the fabric has completely worn through in the center, rather like another one I bought before. However, the stitching is very fine and it is obviously the work of an experienced needlewoman.  It has other condition problems, there are rust marks, a pen mark on the back which I hope will wash out, and holes in the edging - one corner of which has been patched with another piece of old embroidered edge.  It is very old, it has survived the ups and downs of more than a century, and has undoubtedly passed through many pairs of hands.

On the left corner you can see the repair with another piece of embroidery.

Here you can clearly see the many worn areas.  The fabric has simply worn away with wear, but the piece itself is firm, well stitched and stuffed.

I will be reproducing this one, I think I will not change anything about it, its design is simple and elegant.  Size: 17.75 x 20 inches, without the trim.

The second piece is different.  It is stitched well, but the channels are wider, the design is not as balanced and I think it is a later piece.  It too has a border of trimmed batiste, and I cannot decide whether or not it was added later.  It is the same color, so perhaps it was made this way, certainly there is no tape or other finished method before the lace.  The stuffing is firm, the stitching is fine, and I will also reproduce this one, although I may modify the design a little.

Size 19 x 20 inches, without the trim.

In the last photo you can see the difference in quality of work, the piece on the right is much finer.

And last but not least, I have made a little progress on my small petasson from Boutis Traditionnel.  The stitching is complete, and I have started the stuffing.  I used the Frixion pen to mark, and when I have finished stitching, I run the hairdryer over it to remove the marks.  I find I am happier working on the stuffing with the marks gone, I can see the stitches better.  Now I want it to be finished so I can wash it !

Recemment,j'ai trouve deux vieux petassons qui viennent d'arriver chez moi.  Tous les deux sont abimes, mais pour moi dans ce cas ca sont des pieces pour apprendre et reproduire, et franchement j'aime les pieces faites a la maison par les familles.    Le premier est tres fin, le travail super bien fait mais le tissu du centre  est dechire au fil du temps.  Le deuxieme est peut-etre plus recent que l'autre, le piquage tres bien fait mais le bourrage plus epais, et je ne suis pas sure si la broderie autour etait fait au meme temps que le boutis, malgre le fait qu'il n'y a rien d'autre pour la finition, pas de tresse, etc.  Si quelqu'un a un autre avis ou bien quelques informations, n'hesitez pas a m'ecrire, je suis toujours tres heureuse d'apprendre, merci.

Petasson Finished !

For a while I have been working on a new petasson.  On my last trip to France, I was able to purchase a very old, very damaged petasson.  When I got back I used the old one to reproduce the design, adding some changes here and there.  The center had to be re-interpreted because of the damage, it was very hard to see exactly how the original motif was drawn.  I have just finished it, here are a few pictures.  I am really pleased that I was able to save the pattern, since the original was simply beyond any kind of repair.  It has worn through in so many places. 
I am also in the process of binding a couple of quilts I finished recently, and will post those when they're done.  I am so pleased to be finishing a few things !!  I already have a list of the next projects, of course !

Petasson Progress - Part 2

As all the US knows (and probably most other people too !) today is the Superbowl.  My husband even went to an ice hockey game before the Superbowl ....... so I spent some time stitching.  Here is the beginning of the stuffing, just the center and one leaf so far.  Maybe I'll get some more done later.

Petasson Progress

I am making progress on the reproduction of the antique Nimes petasson I found last year.  I had made some small design changes to the original, but the main elements are all still there.  I decided to make the center of the border flowers in the style known as Rosette de Petite Camargue.  I love this little stitch, it adds a delicacy to the piece.  However, it is HARD to cut into the fabric you have spent so many hours stitching, and I really had to take a deep breath before I did it.  There are 4 total rosettes, one on each side of the piece.  The rest of the design is rosemary sprigs, flowers, grapes, leaf swags, and the traditional petasson border.  If I can stuff a decent amount before the end of the day, I will post another picture (might even happen - what else should I do during the Superbowl !!!)

Petasson for the Jacksonville Show

It's finally time to show you what I have spent every free moment working on for the past weeks (months .....). I wanted to send a petasson to exhibit at the Quiltfest in Jacksonville FL in September (visit their site http://www.quiltfestjax.com/ ) Of course it took far longer than I thought but now it is finished and I am proud of it - I think it is my best boutis so far. The other small work is also going to Jacksonville. Send me your comments !

Endlich kann ich die Arbeit zeigen, womit ich wirklich jede freie Minute in den letzten Wochen (Monaten ...) verbracht habe. Diese Petasson geht nun nach Jacksonville fuer den Show im September (siehe http://www.quiltfestjax.com/) Natuerlich hat alles viel laenger gedauert als geplant, aber ich bin nun stolz darauf und meine, das ist bislang der beste Boutis. Der andere kleine geht auch nach Jacksonville. Ueber Eure Kommentare freue ich mich schon im voraus !

A start and a finish !

I have just finished the little purse from the France Boutis last newsletter, here is a picture. I decided to make mine in color with some fabrics purchased in France. I have also made a start on a petasson, the pattern is from the Maison du Boutis.

Ich habe gerade den kleinen Beutel aus der letzten Newsletter von France Boutis fertiggestellt. Ich wollte statt weiss den Stoff, den ich letztes Jahr in Frankreich gekauft habe, verwenden. Ich habe auch mit dem naechsten "ouvrage" angefangen, ein Petasson, das Muster stammt vom Maison du Boutis.