Notan

I was lucky enough to be in town for the monthly meeting of the Pensacola Quilt Guild in July, and their program was give by Jennifer Bunnel; her topic was Notan with fabric.



Notan is a Japanese word that loosely means "contrast", light & dark. This method of design is often done with paper, but Jennifer wanted to apply the concept to fabric using a fusible product like Wonder Under.

The basic idea with paper is to start with two square pieces in contrasting colors, one large and one small, and to draw half of a symmetrical figure on the edge of the small square; then flip that piece out (see photos).

Jennifer realized that she would need two pieces of each color of fabric and that she would have two finished products that were opposites...


She also realized that the squares must remain intact, so precise cutting was important. When each piece was fully laid out, she fused it once.


For more information on Notan, Google it, or go to Jane Dunnewold's website under Tutorials and The Expansion of the Square.

Note that Notan can be used to applique fabric (without fusible), as long as the color of each piece of fabric is the same on both sides. Hand-dyed and batik fabrics would work.