In the June/July issue of Quilting Arts Magazine, Frances Holliday Alford describes the fun she had playing with Textiva® Fusible Film (“Lost in the Stash”). Textiva is the sheet form of Angelina fibers and can also be layered, fused, and stitched.

We asked our readers for their ideas on how to use Textiva, and received some very creative responses.

From Betyann Shaver:

To make an embellishment I used a butterfly stamp and a flower stamp. Ink the stamps and place the inked side up. Place the film on the stamp and cover it with parchment paper. Place a hot iron on the paper for a few seconds and check the film. There should be an image showing on the film. Let cool and trim the image. Just a little bit of magic.

From Stephanie Novatski - image left:

• Make beads by placing strips on clear, thin plastic like that from egg cartons, hit it with a heat gun and, while it is still warm, roll it up on a wooden skewer. Do this a little at a time and not too much heat, or it turns the plastic opaque which may or may not be a good thing. Wrap with wire, fibers, and beads.

• Place a piece of film on a Teflon® cloth or parchment paper, add sequins or other flat things, place a second layer on top, cover with a protective sheet and hit it lightly with an iron to sandwich the flat elements in between.

• If you place a piece of cardboard over part of the film and hit the rest with an iron or heat gun, the part not covered will curl around your shape, and the part under the cardboard remains flat. You can also make fringe by marking your shape, placing the layers together, and cutting them to form a fringe up to 1/4" from your shape. Place the cardboard over the shape and hit with a heat gun, carefully. The cut fringe will curl and the film will fuse together; if you add sequins, glitter confetti or small pieces of fabric between the layers, they will become trapped when you heat the film.

From Tonia Gerrits - image below:

I made a necklace of beads made from Textiva Fusible Film. I wrapped two colors around a knitting needle to form the shapes, and hit them with a heat gun to fuse the colors together.

From Kit Robinson:

The quilt that I have attached, ‘Sisters’, is the first piece in which I have used Textiva, but it definitely won’t be the last. I inserted small cut pieces of Sugar Plum and Desert Sunset Sparkle sparingly into the background, adding interest and mystery to the landscape.  Everyone who has seen it draws closer and closer to see what is happening inside this picture and is amazed that such a subtle touch would add so much punch.  I am already in the planning stages of my next Textiva enhanced fabric art piece.