A BOWL OF BISCORNU Posted on 18 Dec 16:10 , 0 comments

I have had more fun making these funny easy-to piece "bizarre- irregulars." 

According to Katherine of own two hands: Biscornu is a French adjective that means "that which has an irregular form, with projections" or "complicated and bizarre." June at Planet June has a great tutorial for making these little "stuffies" into a wrist pincushion. From what I've been able to find in my internet research (ie: surfing) most of the time a biscornu is a cross stitch project ... sometimes funky and sometimes beautiful elegant dressing table items. They can be large are small and it almost seems that sometimes the fun comes in seeing just how small you can make them.

Aida cloth and embroidery floss are in short supply here in the studio (meaning I'm not quite sure where I stored them when I last worked on a project several years ago) but fabric abounds. and 4-patches seemed like an easy way to mark that off-set first seam and to keep the following seams lined up. And the bowl began to fill. Search through the button box or the bead bin for trim and bling. I used hand quilting thread and a long needle to stitch the tuck in the center.

My 4-patches are made with 2 1/2" squares.  I made another into a baby toy for my grandbabies using 3" squares and yarn tassels for the center tuck. Smaller biscornus would make great Christmas ornaments for the tree. I made a smaller biscornu pincushion for my daughter using her favorite 30's reproduction fabrics making the 4-patch with 2" squares. That one was pretty tough to stuff. It would have been helpful to have the small Puff Quilting Clip Set from Clover for stuffing the polyfil in more easily.

I think these are a great addition to my holiday decor plus what a great "grab and go" gift idea to have on hand for unexpected quilter friends.