Druid banner - appliqué trilithon

Time to start the trilithon, the 'Stonehenge' motif that forms the heart of the design.

This is appliqué, using white duchess silk satin, which has a beautiful sheen to it.  I first traced the shapes from the design drawing, and cut them out in a lightweight Vilene.  I should stress that this is not Bondaweb or any other iron-on interfacing.  I really don't like the way that makes fabric feel - it's too stiff and inflexible.

This means, though, that I have to find some way to cope with the tendency of a fabric such as the satin to fray when cut out.  This is what the Vilene (or felt, which I use for appliqué a lot) is for - I cut that to the correct size, cut the fabric out slightly larger, and fold the margin round the back of the Vilene, tacking it in place:

Here's one tacked piece and a second Vilene piece, still with the tracing paper attached:

As ever, I went over the design on the back with small running stitches to transfer it to the front fabric, as a guide for positioning:

I then stitched the first upright section into place:

And the second:

And finally the cross-piece along the top:

That's just the start, though - this now needs to be integrated into the spiral design.  That's next!