Until the world changes back to where we can meet in class wherever in the world I am teaching, I want you to know about the various ways you can learn fabric collage from your own home or studio.
2021 Update
The cancellation of all my in-person 2020 classes, and already a few in 2021, has taught me one thing, it’s that the future of teaching lies online. Not that it will replace all in-person classes—which can provide a different level of interaction not found online—but eLearning will surely now be one component in teachers’ tool kits.
Last year at this time, Tom and I upped our online game with two new eWorkshops and Thursday Night in My Studio Live! sessions set in motion within five of those early COVID weeks—only one offering was even planned prior to then.
Scroll through the twenty-seven recordings showcase of Thursday Night in My Studio Live! presentations. Mostly, we worked in multiple series of four evenings each, working in-depth with topics ranging from collaging faces and hair, to how to approach backgrounds, to working in drafts with a four-week spiral exercise, and a few more! They proved popular to many shelter-at-home folks, and they’re now available to everyone at $7 each.
This year we stepped off the cliff in March with 5-Day Online Fabric Collage classes. They have been as successful as we could have hoped—and will now be a part of my yearly teaching schedule, just as we did hope. Tom and I are using many of the online teaching skills we honed last year with a combination of the live Thursday Night presentations and the photo annotation tools I engaged for private coaching sessions we began in May, 2020.
One advantage of the online or at-home mode of learning is that it is usually more budget friendly. If you want the experience and travel that an in-person class gives you, you should do it. However, you don’t need to spend a lot of money or travel any farther than your couch to at least learn the basics of fabric collage, and at best take a full-fledged live week-long class with me in a Zoom classroom with other personable fabric collage folks. You can do it now, as we wait it out for the world to get back into balance.
The list below outlines all the various ways I now provide to learn fabric collage. From free blog posts to the $199 Fabric Collage Master Class Manual to the $995 five-day class, there’s a resource to fit different budgets and ambitions.
The listing may also be helpful in deciding between various resources: Sea Turtle eWorkshop or Master Class? Serendipity Quilts book or Spiral eWorkshop? I’ll compare and contrast the resources to help with any internal debate.
My Blog on susancarlson.com
(click on bar at top of home page or subscribe by clicking on blue box in column to the right of any blog post—including this one)
FREE
I’ve been posting weekly in my blog for about four and a half years. Among the various subjects I’ve covered, many of them are focused on the various techniques of fabric collage. Taken collectively, they cover almost every step.
Here are a couple of ways you can find the information on my blog.
First of all, here’s a link to a page (below) that lists the most pertinent posts and what they cover.
Susan Carlson Throwback Thursday: A Fabric Collage How-To Buffet (Update)
The link above doesn’t cover every how-to post I’ve published. If you want to even more information, you can search the entire library of blog posts by Category. Look in the right-hand column of this post (or at the bottom if on a mobile device). There you’ll find a drop-down menu entitled “Blog Post Categories.” It asks you to “Choose a Category.” One of those categories is “How To.” Browse all you want.
The blog posts were written as introductions to the process, though not necessarily sequentially. At the very least the blog will get you started and give you enough guidance to discover if you like fabric collage (as I teach it) and if you’d like to delve into it further.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Spiral eWorkshop
$25
Lifetime Access
Suitable for all levels, including beginners.
Receive a $25 credit toward purchase
of Fabric Collage Master Class Manual.
This is one of the newest horses in the stable, and one we never considered releasing until realizing that a good percentage of the world needed to stay at home in early 2020. We figured this would be something positive for the fabric lovers to do. The Spiral eWorkshop is essentially an excerpt from the Fabric Collage Master Class Manual. This exercise teaches nearly all the basics of fabric collage using a low-stress project.
What this eWorkshop doesn’t show you is how to make your own pattern for a subject of your choice. That information is found in the Fabric Collage Master Class Manual.
Actually, you might consider the spiral exercise a test-drive of the Fabric Collage Master Class, as when you buy the Spiral eWorkshop you will receive a $25 credit should you ever wish to purchase the Master Class Manual.
Book—Serendipity Quilts: Cutting Loose Fabric Collage
$29.95
96 pages, full color
CLICK FOR MORE INFO
A book is a comforting thing to have. It’s always there. It works offline or when the power’s out.
In this book the technique of fabric collage is clearly explained. It includes several projects of increasing difficulty to choose from. Patterns are included. For inspiration, a gallery of my quilts is also included in the book.
If you learn well from books, this might be a good choice for you. If you need to actually watch how something is done, one of the eWorkshops might be a better choice. I use lots of video in the eWorkshops to demonstrate techniques.
Among the five projects in the book, one is a spiral. The book covers it in complete detail as does the Spiral eWorkshop. Choosing between them comes down which way of learning you prefer: a book to flip through or online with video.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Sea Turtle eWorkshop
$149
Over four and half hours of video,
plus photos and text
If you’re wishing to dive deep into a single project, the Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Sea Turtle eWorkshop is a fun and satisfying way to take the plunge.
Step-by-step instructions cover the fabric collage process with checklists, video, and text summary. Five major steps lead you through the creation of your unique and personalized sea turtle collage quilt: from choosing fabric to cutting and gluing to backgrounds to quilting and finishing.
However, if you want to create a quilt based on your own subject, the Fabric Collage Master Class Manual describes the process of making your own pattern from a photograph and offers more suggestions and options dealing with a variety of subject matter.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Master Class Manual
$199
From soup to nuts,
the whole fabric collage process
I call this online course a master class not because completing it will make one a master (though it could over time). I use “master” here in its other sense, like a master key, one that opens every lock.
The Fabric Collage Online Master Class is not limited to a particular project. Instead it leads the student through six tutorials, or chapters, to a comprehensive understanding of fabric collage methods and techniques, enabling them to complete any project they choose. The Manual has a seventh component, the Spiral exercise, as a warm-up to the fabric collage process.
Fabric Collage Coaching: Private Sessions
$129/session
45 minute live video conference
Fabric collage coaching can be useful at almost any stage in the process. Want or need individualized help? Just starting out and need me to help you refine your design or choose fabrics? Have a work in progress and are stuck? Nearly finished but are unsure if it’s really done? I can help.
You’ll send in photos of your fabrics, your design, or your in-progress collage and together we’ll discuss any issues or questions you may have. Using a variety of tools, including multiple cameras and on-screen notations to identify specific areas, I’ll be able to give any feedback, suggestions, or how-to demonstrations that are needed.
Best of all? Your entire session will be recorded for you to review whenever you want.
Monday-Wednesday are preferred days of the week for private video coaching, but exceptions can be accommodated.
To request an appointment, click here.
Live Online Classes
$995
Take a class with Susan Carlson—
from wherever you are in the world!
Can’t travel to take an in-person class? Let me come to you. Learn fabric collage from me, in your own home, through your computer, tablet, or other internet-connected device.
May 2021 Live Online Fabric Collage Class with Susan Carlson
May 17-21, 2021
Monday-Friday: daily 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Pacific Time (11 a.m.-6 p.m. Eastern Time)
Fabric Collage Menagerie: 5-days
Create a fabric collage quilt of a favorite animal using Susan’s innovative layering/collage method. Pets, mammals of the world, birds, sea life such as turtles or fish—any animal is game—a fabric collage trophy. Susan will daily introduce different aspects of the fabric collage process, to expand on each student’s unique design. Fabric selection and how it relates to subject matter, construction, backgrounds and borders, quilting, and finishing for display will be discussed.
Price: $995 per student
Cancellation Policy: If space can be filled by a replacement student, we will refund your fee minus $200.
Required Class Fee: $169 for the Fabric Collage Master Class
($199 regular price; contact tom@tomallenbooks for coupon code for discount. This fee is waived if you already own the Master Class)
Hardware and Software Requirements: Computer, tablet, or other larger-screen device; reliable internet; ability to photograph and send images of collage in progress (a cellphone is recommended); Zoom meeting software (free to download)
Maximum Number of students: 12
Subject Matter: Animals only, see above.
Extra Perk: A welcome box mailed to you prior to class—contents yet to be determined, though will include a mini Oma’s Pumpkins pincushion. 😉
What’s It Like?
Check out the blog post and student testimonials from our first live online 5-day class!
We emulate the in-person experience as closely as possible. There will be morning group meetings to answer questions. Then I’ll meet with students individually throughout the day. Zoom break-out rooms will recreate the experience of working side-by-side with your fellow students. Evening events include a meet-and-greet and a show-and-share.
Being able to see and hear your fellow students, to share photos of your work, even to raise a glass in an after-hours meet-up will help to foster a feeling of camaraderie.
The Live Online Class Schedule
One Week Before Class
I will be providing a free, 45-minute private coaching session prior to class. These sessions will be scheduled for the week prior to class to ensure that each student is prepared with subject matter and supplies, is comfortable with the online format, and ready to begin the class on day one. For an example of what a coaching session is like, please visit this link.
Evening Before Class Starts
I’ll host a meeting to introduce myself and the other students. We’ll also talk about what we plan to do in class. Then part to get a good night’s rest.
Daily Class Schedule
• The live online class runs for five days as an in-person class would, with roughly the same daily schedule (6 hours plus lunch)—exact time of day will take into account students’ time zones.
• Prior to start of each class day: a pre-recorded presentation introduces the next step(s) in the process. Students will come to class having already watched the presentation.
• Work day begins with a live Q&A with the full class, where I’ll further discusses that day’s topic and do a quick check-in with each student to set their plans for the day.
• Students are then sent to a Zoom “break-out” room with 3-4 other students. With remaining morning time, I’ll meet with students individually.
• Students email photos of the progress on their project which I’ll share on the screen as I get to each break-out room. This way I can view and discuss each project, making annotations to the photos which students can then refer to when they return to work.
• Lunch (hour-long break in teaching). Students may continue to work and/or socialize.
• Afternoon: I’ll continue to meet with individual students. By end of day, I’ll have suggested “homework” for the next day.
End of Class Week
I’ll host an evening meeting on last day of class with all students to share and review their work.
After Class Has Ended
Optional, extra charge follow-up coaching for final or ongoing feedback. The one-time reduced price will be $75 (regular $100).
Dear Susan I have been following you for a number of years now, have two of your books, once attempted to join one of your classes in Maine – sadly sold out – but have not had the courage to attempt your method on my own until now. Last week I purchased the Spiral eWorkshop. I am so pleased with the results. I hope I can figure out how to take a photo of my spiral when complete so I can send it to you!
Love all you do
Thank you, Lin. I’m so glad you are pleased with the results. Yes, please send us a picture if you are able to. I will include it in a future Finish Line blog post if you give me permission. There’s a form to submit your quilt: https://susancarlson.com/submit-a-finish-line-quilt/.
You provide many resources to learn from, Susan, but I just love the last one you added. The in depth consultation is a fantastic idea and I hope people take advantage of it. I also hope this is something you consider keeping as an option for us as an ongoing service. I have always been amazed by your valuable feedback on my work.
We plan to provide some time each month for doing 1 on 1 coaching.
Hi Susan, I took the first 4 Thursday Night in my Studio Live! I enjoyed them so much I took the Spiral eWorkshop last week. Last week was my scheduled week at Empty Spools Seminars. That was obviously not possible so I did my own Pretend Empty Spools Seminar with you. I blogged about it all last week. https://frommysewingroom.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/pretend-empty-spools-seminars-days-1-and-2/ I had a great time. Thank you.
I would like to know if there is a pattern for the 4 citrus slices ?
Nope that was an original design by the maker.