Elaboración tradicional de COLCHAS Y ALMAZUELAS _ Patchwork _ Artesanía tradicional _ Documental

For the past 10 years, the upper floor of the library in the Pyrenean town of Voltania has been a regular meeting place for a group of women from different villages in Sobrarby. The purpose of these regular meetings is to practice and improve the techniques of a craft that has recently become popular under the name of patchwork, an English word that means patch, patch, scrap or piece of fabric and work. Work. The technique consists of joining pieces of fabric in geometric shapes with simple seams to form blocks or designs that, when joined together, make up a large figure on fabric. In fact, it is an activity that was first documented in Riojan texts from the 10th century under the name almazela, a word derived from the Arabic word almazalah or almazalaya, which means mat or bed cover. It is known that in the 10th century, in La Rioja, they made a style called almazuelas. We have a sample in Voltania, this one from Casamanac, which has been known for several generations, well over 100 years. It's made with leftover clothing, as you can see, pants, shirts, and it's a chest cover. Well, look, here in Voltania there was some old work that could have been copied, but the truth is that we copy almost everything from magazines that we look at, because now, as it's become a bit fashionable, it appears in many magazines. They have very pretty, old designs, copied from somewhere, and we look for what we like the most there. And once we've chosen the design, we have to look at the fabrics, the colors. For example, here we looked at a quilt and we said, let's put the colors of autumn. Then, in addition to that, we also have to take into account the size we want. We can make it bigger or smaller. And once everything is thought out, then we start making the patterns. The fabrics, you see? We have to make sure they're the same thickness and the colors go well with what we've chosen. If we have chosen browns, then brown, but they should all be the same thickness and the same touch so that they look good. The quilt we have chosen is called the maple leaf. Now we will draw the selected measurement and make the patterns with the design. Every nine squares are called blocks and we will make a block of seven, mine each square. As always in geometric designs, triangles, diamonds, squares. First the block is drawn, then they are cut out and those triangles and squares are the patterns that we will place on the fabric to cut. I make the stem, it is sewn with another technique called applique and it is sewn on the square. The rest is a triangle cut out because it consists of very similar pieces. This model is only a triangle and a square to make the patterns on the fabrics. Once the patterns are prepared, the selected fabrics are placed. To cut the necessary ones, the fabric is placed on sandpaper glued to cardboard so that it does not slip and the design is fixed half a centimeter, which is the margin that is given for sewing. They are placed so that not a single millimeter of fabric is wasted. First, the squares, three-colored squares, which are the leaf in the background is always in a solid color, almost always so that the design stands out. It also consists of four colored triangles and then we will cut out the squares and triangles for the background and the stem of the leaf. Now the background is made. The leaf is printed or in a solid, darker color and the background is made light, in a light tone so that it stands out. Well, we use almost all recycled fabrics. In other words, we started with the intention that they gave us fabrics or we had fabrics that were left over from the house, from dresses, from things, and we said let's take advantage because it seemed to us that in the past that's what people did. They didn't buy fabrics but what was left over at home so they could make cushions or make tapestries or make a blanket with what was left over. Once the pieces were drawn, they were cut with a centimeter margin after the drawing. This is the seam allowance. It has to be done quite precisely because then you put right sides together in the triangle. For example, you have to join two triangles to form a square in the drawing. Preparing the fabrics is one of the slowest and most attention-grabbing tasks because the number of pieces needed for a quilt can be numerous depending on its size and the complexity of the drawings. I have counted quilts with 100 pieces but they are made with many, many more. It takes many hours. The most entertaining part is cutting. You have to calculate the number needed for each piece before cutting the fabric to know if they will fit in the piece you have. You have to leave them well placed so that they do not wrinkle and stacked in the different colors because that makes the work much easier. You take the color you need without mixing them all up and then keep them well stored so that none get lost. That way, each one with its color and that is how you choose the ones you need. The components of each sheet are arranged so as not to lose any and are kept securely in place, making it much easier to work without having to look for the pieces. Once cut, we have to think about which ones we need for each block and we are going to place them so that later we do not get confused and we can do it correctly. We will see if we are missing any, but I don't think we are. And once we see that we have it complete, we will hold it in place with a pin so that whoever has to sew it will know that there is no conflict, nothing is missing or extra. Well, now that we have the pieces cut, we are going to start assembling. First, we start with the triangles, one patterned and the other solid color. The triangles are always assembled, always making sure that they fit as marked with the lines because otherwise it will not be exact. And then we always start sewing at the peaks, making sure that it does not open. And a very small stitch. Rosemary, along with another group of colleagues, is in charge of sewing the triangles together to form the squares as indicated in the drawing they have planned. Well, now she has joined the 4 triangles, which have become 2 squares. To assemble the 2 squares, which are the 4 triangles, you always have to make sure that the tips, the maple tips, are facing up, because they can be assembled in several ways and you can't make a mistake. If not, you always have to undo the tip facing up, as shown in the diagram. You have to look at the diagram, always the diagram in front, and then, well, always join everything drawn, and always join them by making 2 stitches at the beginning. To secure. Now the 2 maple tips are in place. The square is placed, the plain background square. And now we have to assemble the square, which is the background color of the leaf. Well, now the square is sewn on the first line, the first strip. Now we have to make the second, which is the center of the leaf. Although this group of women is sewing the pieces for the same quilt, each one usually does her own work. Each one sews her own thing, what she likes the most, if she likes a quilt or likes to cover a sofa, she chooses the model and how big she wants it. Then, well, we all discuss it among ourselves, because we all get together and say, well this is good, I like this better and that's how we do it. But each one sews her own thing, but we all give our opinion. Well, now I have the 3 strips, now we are going to join them. This is the first one, uh, so that you can see the drawing. The first, the second. The second and the third. You see, here is the tail of the leaf and now you can see the whole drawing, as it is here in the diagram. Now we have to join the 3 strips. I'm going to join them. I took the first and second strips and put them face to face with the fabric to sew on the wrong side. And so that the seam matches the seam, you have to pin it so that the seam matches the seam, otherwise it won't be done right. The block is finished, the sheet is finished. Now we'll put it on the table. The wrong side is this, the seams and the right side, well it's finished. Now we have to join the sheets, all the sheets, and the quilt is made. Well, look, this same pattern can be assembled in several ways. There are several designs. For example, this one can be assembled like this, you see, like this, with the tail of the sheet together. And another block is made. Look, this one is the same, but well, it's the same in a different color, right? Like this, for example, you see, and this is another block and quilts are made like this. There are many ways to assemble this pattern. Well, while my colleagues make the other quilt, I make this one. And now I have to join. It's the same pattern, it's the same quilt, but different fabric. So, now here I have to join a strip. To join all the blocks with this strip, you always have to make sure that this strip always fits the peak of the sheet, neither too inward nor too outward, always right at the peak, like this. The seams always have to be sewn very flat, always in the same place, on the same side, all on the same side, so that they are made as one. And that's how the entire quilt is joined. These quilts take a lot of work because since everything is sewn by hand and they are all very small pieces, it takes a lot of work, but we take it easy and keep doing it. This piece is already sewn, now it looks like this. And so they are joined one by one with a strip in between, the length of the quilt you want. I'm going to show you that I have a strip here, so that you can see how it looks. Look, now this is joined like this. Like this. And then the sheet is going to be inside a brown square. Inside a brown square all of them. Here it comes, here comes the strip like this one that is placed on the other one that I have to put here. It was all going to be like this in squares. Okay, once the quilt cover is sewn, ironed and fixed, we put on the lining, the batting and the quilt layer. We put the pins in and start sewing. This is done so that the three layers are very stretched, so that they are well stretched and very flat. Okay, now we start sewing to take the three fabrics, the lining, the nappa and the base. And that way later we can quilt without fear of any of the fabric moving. We pass it through all the seams so that it does not move lengthwise or across. Uh, we pass it through all the seams, you see. And that way everything is very secure. Okay, look, this is ready to quilt. We have finished sewing everything and now on the reverse side it is very flat, which is very easy to quilt like this, okay? And we can start quilting whenever we want. Now we are going to quilt this cover. We are going to put the horizontal and vertical lines, all of them, all with a little dot in the back. In the squares, we draw the design that we like. Here it says, for example, I myself am going to do it at one centimeter. I am going to quilt everything, the half moon, the entire square, square by square. We quilt the center the same way. We quilt it all around. We quilt it here. We quilt it here and then here we do the same. We make the same square and that is the quilting of this cover. Well, now we start quilting with a little dot in the back. We are going to make all the straight lines, putting our hand underneath so that the lining is very smooth. That way, you touch it and you put it well. The dot has to be a little short so that it is more quilted later. And make sure that it does not show on the right side, so that it is sewn like this. You have to put the needle where you remove the thread, okay? And always, above all, your hand underneath to lay the fabric flat. Where I remove the thread, I almost put the needle so that the stitch is not visible. Because if you do it like this, the stitch would be visible, okay? So, it is held in place and not visible. On the wrong side, there is a little hem. You see, there is a little hem. But on the right side, you can't see it. Well, the quilting is done so that everything is more secure. Otherwise, all the fabrics would come up, okay? With so many seams, all the fabrics would come up. So, everything is more secure. The three fabrics no longer move. I use the quilting technique with a frame because I like it better because it comes out straighter. I like how the stitches look and it is straighter. And yet, my colleague Lola does it by hand because she also does it very well by hand. And the truth is that quilting is very rewarding because once you have quilted it and put the facing on, you have the finished piece and it is very rewarding. The truth is that the password is very addictive. It relaxes you, especially for me. Dot. Well, we get together. You talk to some. You talk to others. One gives you an idea. Another gives you another and that's it. And it's very nice. You have to lower the needle down to where you took out the thread. A small stitch and take the needle out again. One pass and then it looks like this the other way around. It looks like this. The line is left. And of course, as you have to go over all the lines so that everything is quilted and then the facing is on. That's how the piece is finished. Piece by piece and piece by piece and drawing by drawing. OK, look, once the entire cover is quilted so it's all nice and quilted and sewn together, you put a surger here. See, you put a surger here at 5C2 centimeters. You sew by hand and turn it to the wrong side. You finish everything to the right. OK? And the quilt is completely finished. That's the process. This group of women from the towns of Boltona, Ainza, Escalona and Morillo de Monclas have turned a traditional craft into a reason to meet and strengthen bonds of friendship while trying to rescue a technique that had fallen into oblivion. They meet once a week in the Voltonia workshop to work and design the pieces together while helping or teaching new ones who are starting out. When they have enough pieces, they try to make them known in exhibitions and meetings in order to spread this ancient craft, which under the name of patchwork is becoming popular in Sobarbi and in many towns in Spain. Yeah.