ESSENTIAL GUIDE Sewing Bargello Patchwork

“It’s easy to recognise the distinctive appearance of Bargello patchwork, and here we show you how to achieve this colourful look.” – Lin Clements

WHAT IS BARGELLO PATCHWORK?

Patchworkers are highly inventive people and see potential for piecing all around them, so it’s no surprise that Bargello embroidery has been used as inspiration for fabulous quilting designs for years. Bargello is a technique normally associated with 17th-century Florentine needlepoint embroidery, where flame-like, wavy patterns were created with stitches on canvas. Patchworkers have interpreted these designs using ‘strip sets’ of squares and rectangles arranged in rising and falling patterns to create colourful designs full of movement. Careful colour grading is often a feature of the work.

The piecing of multiple squares and rectangles requires fairly accurate seam alignments for the best results. Strip piecing is