The original design was inspired by a piece of Indonesian commercial printed batik sarong fabric  that I bought locally here in Brunei. I’d originally planned to use it for patchwork but I felt that the design was too nice to cut up but it took me a long time before I finally made it into an applique pattern.

The original piece of batik from which I made the pattern

Once I’d made the pattern the challenge was to choose the colours that I would use for the applique as I didn’t want to use the rather dull brown, black and white of the original. I chose a dark blue, almost black mottled hand dyed batik fabric for the background and pale pastel colours for the flowers, stems and leaves.

The tail feathers and wings were quite a challenge.

The two birds amongst the flowers

I start with a freezer paper template which I iron onto the right side of my gecko fabric. My favourite fabrics are batiks because they are tightly woven and fray less and also because of their  gorgeous colours and patterns.

freezer paper template

I draw round the template using a white fabric marker pen which disappears with heat or water or if I’m using a pale fabric I’ll use permanent fabric marker. I leave the template in place while I cut out roughly round the design. I prefer to leave it there until after I’ve cut it out because it’s easier to handle and you’re less likely to snip into the design by mistake.

I next pin the gecko in place on my background fabric, using fine or short pins. Short pins are good because the thread doesn’t get caught up on them so much.

applique shape pinned to background fabric

I use YLI silk thread and a #11 ‘sharp’ needle to hand stitch the gecko, the silk thread is so fine that it is much easier to make small and almost invisible stitches. I cut a piece of thread 16 – 18 inches long and make a knot in one end. People often want to use too long a piece of thread to avoid having to thread the needle so often, but this isn’t a good idea because the thread gets tangled and tends to shred. I trim the seams as I go along and because I am using a firmly woven fabric I can use very narrow ones without fear of them fraying. I usually trim them to less than a ¼ inch, especially around the toes of the gecko.

Getting started. The knot is buried in the seam and folded edge held in place with thumb.

To start, insert the needle from the back of the appliqué shape and bring it up on the right side at the point where you want to start sewing. It’s easiest to start on a straight edge so with my geckos I always start on the body part.

Wooden toothpick used to turn under edge

Fold over the edge of the appliqué along the seam line, my favourite tool for this is an ordinary wooden toothpick because the slightly rough edge catches the fabric and makes it much easier to turn under. Use the toothpick to smooth the turned under edge and then I use my thumb to hold it in place. I make a straight stitch into the background fabric at the point where I brought the needle out of the appliqué, and then make a very short stitch bringing the needle up through the folded edge. Continue in this way all round the edge of the appliqué shape.

 For sharp inner curves, such as where the body meets the legs, or the gecko toes, I clip right to the seam line, but on a gentle inner curve like the tail I just make small snips within the seam allowance. I never clip outside curves.

This is how the stitching looks from the wrong side.

Another finished gecko wall hanging

I am working on several different designs at once so that I can go from one to another, so one of the other commissions I am currently working on is an Iban Leaf Design which I adapted from a traditional Iban design and made into an applique pattern. I am doing this one by hand using needle turn applique so it is going to take a while to do.

Cut work applique

applique close up

I have started at one of the outside points of the design and am gradually working my way round the outline using the cutwork method of applique. I cut a small section of the fabric at a time and small pins to anchor everything in place,  which I remove as I get to them. I am using silk thread with a very fine needle and I use a toothpick to fold under the edges as I go along.

Several evenings ago I was sitting in the garden, letting the cats have a run around and relaxing with a cup of coffee when I suddenly spotted something in the small tree in front of me. At first I thought it was a snake because I could see something long, thin and spotted draped over one of the branches. I went to look closer and it turned out to be a young monitor lizard. I ran inside to get my camera and luckily it was still light enough for me to get some good shots.

young monitor lizard in tree

Close up of the monitor lizard