Samples for Bargello Jacket

I made one addition to the jacket pattern - after sewing the strip sets in order, and pressing the seams in one direction, I sewed the bottom strip to the top strip to make a tube.  I have done this on other bargello projects, and it makes it easier to cut the strips, and also to decide which colour should be at the top of each strip, as it changes with each new strip.

The strips are sewn to the inside of the sweatshirt.  This is the beginning of a sleeve.  A line was drawn vertically in the centre of the sleeve, and another drawn at right angles about 3-4 inches from the cuff.  The bargello strips grow by 1/4 inch, beginning with the first cut at 1 1/4 inch wide.  A 3/4 inch accent strip is stitched in between each bargello strip.  I don't usually use many pins, but as you can see, I used lots in this project.

The accent strip adds interest, and makes it less obvious if the seams are not perfectly matched, but I still tried my best.

The design is beginning to emerge.

 Here is one completed sleeve, except for the cuff, which will be covered in the "accent" fabric, matching the narrow strips.  The rest of the pieces look like this:

 They all start with a strip in the centre except the front.  This begins with a narrowest strip sewn to the highest point of the shoulder seam.  It builds in two directions - toward the centre and toward the sides.  This allows a perfect match in the centre.  It is cut into two pieces after all the sewing is complete.  Some of the longer strips require an additional piece sewn to the bottom.
Unfortunately, my jacket won't be making any progress until the rest of the class catches up - our group is very flexible.  When you spend the winter in Florida, you expect the occasional visitor or outing to conflict with quilting!  Now I'm back to working on my scrappy pineapple block project......