--===Design-Fractured Triangles===--
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-==Fractured Triangles: Making new fabric from stripes or bold prints ==-

Addy Harkavy [mailto:aardvark@ime.net] 

Imagine yourself in Rome on a hazy, late midwinter day. The light is soft, and
the air is cool, but not cold. On just such a day I wandered into a synagogue
in the Jewish ghetto, tired from a day's walking the city. My fatigue quickly
dissipated, however, when my eyes took in the mosaic floor. The image of that
floor stayed in my mind, to be interpreted in fabric as part of a
serendipitous process I did not even realize was ongoing at the time. 

One day much later, I found myself looking at some absolutely hideous striped
100% cotton fabric that I had bought six yards of chiefly because it was
priced at $1.69 a yard. I had no idea how I might use it at the time, but it
wasn't *that* ugly, and it was too good a deal to pass up. 

After moving past it in my stash for a number of years, I was amazed when it
called out to me and said, "I'm not miscellaneous tapestry stripes. I'm a
mosaic floor." 

Using design mirrors I closely examined the fabric to see what it would look
like if the stripes were pieced into squares, triangles, hexagons, and other
regular figures. I kept coming back to the triangles. 

Before discussing the fractured triangle technique—which can be applied to
squares, too—just remember that the case in point shown here is something upon
which to *generalize*. Stripes, bold prints and other fabrics can take on
different personalities if fragmented and rejoined. Since my style isn't
generally quite this structured, the way this piece turned out surprised me
considerably. On the other hand, the piece in the picture, taken as a whole,
has opened new horizons for me in developing smaller motifs to appear within a
larger work that would not be multiple repetitions of the same shape. 

Finally, keep in mind that this technique is handy in making fiber designs
reminiscent of fine Oriental carpets; don't stop with triangles, and don't be
afraid to mix, match, cut pieced fragmented shapes, and so on. What follows is
just enough to get you started. 

As my romp through fractured triangles evolved from the center out, I realized
that, without initially being aware of it, I had been inspired by the floor in
the synagogue in Rome. Some of you may recognize the overall design as one
common in Jewish art: the Star of David, or Magen David. 

In the piece shown here, repeated forms establish a rhythm and pattern; each
six-pointed star is contained inside a larger one (this could go on
indefinitely!), and each consists of six equilateral triangles, set in
60-degree diamonds. 

Each equilateral triangle consists of three identical 120-degree triangles
which make a new fabric when the triangles are assembled. 
-=What fabrics work with this technique? =-

Almost anything with a stripe or a bold print is a candidate. Don't leave out
medium and large-scale directional prints. Design mirrors are an easy way to
view the fabric fragmented and rejoined into any regular, geometric shape. 

_Making templates: _

There are two ways to make templates for getting the 120-degree triangles. The
first is the way I actually did it; the second is easier. On template plastic,
I drew an equilateral triangle and dropped a line from the apex to the middle
of the opposite side. Then I turned the triangle and dropped perpendicular
lines from the other two apices to the centers of their opposite sides.
Finally, I cut out one of the 120 degree triangles formed when the three
perpendiculars intersect in the center of the original triangle. Easy way: Use
a 120-degree triangle ruler! The long edge is the size of your equilateral
triangle. 

The next step is to cut out your template and use it to align the edges of
your design mirror. When you set this atop your fabric and move it, you will
see how three 120-degree triangles can make a *new* equilateral triangle. 

_Assembling equilateral triangles:_ 

Always sew from the center to the outside edge. 

Place two of the 120-degree triangles right sides together. Placing pins
ensure that landmarks on two short edges pieces match up. 

Use at least three pins; sew the line. 

Match and sew one small side of the third 120-degree triangle to one short
side of a triangle in the first assembly; match the final seam, and sew as a
set-in. 

_Parallelograms to set between triangles_: 

I found that joining two equilateral triangles made more precise setting
parallelograms than did cutting and setting in a 60-degree diamond. The line
where the two triangles are sewn together to make the diamond also makes a
good orienting point in putting the pieces together. 

This should get you off and running, experimenting with fragmented triangles
and other shapes. I've tried the technique on squares and have developed some
very interesting motifs based on four 90-degree triangles. 

Further reading:
 
*Mirror Manipulations
 Hidden Images, Unique Quilts
 *by Gail Valentine
 That Patchwork
Place [http://www.patchwork.com] 



 

  
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