Fiber Art Palm Trees



Fiber Art Palm Tree by Barb Forrister



I am so excited about finishing my newest palm tree sculpture. This is a take off from my other canopy trees in which I have opted to use lutradur and lace for the palm fronds. I first began by experimenting with different weights of lutradur, specifically light and heavy weight lutradur. Then to change things up a bit, I added some interfacing. I painted sheets of both lutradur and interfacing with acrylic textile paints and used Mistyfuse Transdoodle sheets to transfer the palm frond patterns onto the painted sheets.



 



In order to clearly see the stitching, I used heavy weight threads such as Madiera Supertwist, Wonderfil Dazzle and Superior Razzle Dazzle 8 wt thread in the bobbin to stitch the palm fronds. Laying a copper wire along the central vein of the leaf allowed for shaping and sculpting of the leaves. The copper wire was couched by hand using yarn all along the central vein.


The stems of the palm fronds were attached to the main tree and the copper wires were wrapped with yarns. The tree trunk is composed of PVC and was covered in lace to add texture. I have also added decorative lights to the trunk of the tree, thinking it would make a wonderful decorative night light. I also believe it would be a great addition for a room with a tropical theme decor!