After becoming interested in quilting, I enrolled in a local quilt shop's (The Quilter's Nook, which is no longer in business, unfortunately!) beginning quilting class. The object of this class was to complete a wallhanging made up of four blocks: Two were pieced, two were appliquéd. What a project to undertake with my new-found addiction! With the help of a fabulous teacher, I hand-pieced, hand-appliquéd, and hand-quilted this wallhanging. It's currently hanging in the downstairs, guest bedroom. It's one of my proudest quilting accomplishments.

     I'd like to share with you a few tips that I've learned along the appliqué path of life. Most of these were learned the hard way; by trial and error. Mostly error. *grin*

• I strongly suggest pre-washing 100% cotton fabrics for most appliqué projects. Especially if the colors are extremely bright. In the above mentioned wallhanging, I used a bright fuchsia. I pre-washed the fabric and was shocked to find that it still bled after washing it the first time when it was finished. It took several launderings for it to finally quit bleeding. Had I watched the rinse water upon my initial pre-washing of the fabric and seen the dye still bleeding into it, I'd have washed it again. You can *probably* get by with not pre-washing blends.
• 100% cotton fabrics are best for most appliqué projects. Blends usually don't crease nearly as well and also need pressing at a cooler temperature than cotton.
• Silk, lamé, and similar fabrics may need stabilized with an iron-on product fused to the wrong side.
• When making templates, I prefer heat-resistant plastic over cardboard. Plastic templates hold their shape while I've found that cardboard ones don't always (they can be 'indented' by marking too closely to it with your marking pen/pencil). Sewing your appliqué piece on is much easier if you first turn the edges of the fabric up over the template and press the crease.
• The best method for me to appliqué is using freezer paper. It's simple and I find that it gives the piece that I'm appliquéing enough stability to make working with it a snap. Simply trace the pattern piece onto the freezer paper, cut it out, then iron it onto the back side of your fabric. When you cut around your freezer paper pattern on the fabric, be sure to leave ¼" seam allowance. Fold the ¼" seam allowance over the back onto the freezer paper. I use glue from a glue stick to hold it in place, making sure to firmly crease it with my fingertips. Then, pin the ready-to-appliqué piece into place, ready to be stitched using an appropriate stitch.
• When using the freezer paper method, after the appliquéd piece is finished, I turn it over and carefully clip the back side and cut out the inner portion of the base foundation beneath the appliquéd piece. I then carefully remove the freezer paper.
• There are several methods of appliqué stitches. The stitch I choose depends on what I want the finished look of the quilt to be. I prefer invisible appliqué, but the blanket stitch, sometimes called button-hole stitch is also one of my favorite. To ensure invisible stitches, match the thread to the appliqué shape. 100% cotton sewing thread is recommended.
• A small embroidery or appliqué needle is preferred.
• Silk pins work great when pinning your piece to the foundation. Place pins every ¾ to 1", perpendicular to the edge of the shape.
• Instead of pinning a narrow shape, such as a flower stem, to the foundation, I use a glue stick to adhere it.
• Always bring your needle up from the back of the appliqué piece to the front in the crease in order to hide the knot of your thread.
• Some areas on appliqué pieces are hard to turn under without clipping. Make sure you don't clip beyond your turn-under allowance. Clip only on concave curves (those curves that are shaped like VERY relaxed u's) or at a "V" area, such as at the top of a heart. If you clip two or three threads short of the line you'll be turning under on, it will give you enough fabric to anchor your stitches and also will help prevent fraying.
• Turn off the steam when pressing your appliqué pieces. You'll be working with your fingers near the iron and steam burns hurt! Steam can also stretch your fabric.
• I place all of my appliqué pieces into a ziplock plastic bag. I also place my appliqué scissors, thread, needles, and other items I use in another ziplock bag. I then place both of these bags into a larger bag. This makes my appliqué project portable.
• A helpful (and comforting) tip that I've figured out on my own is that good appliquéing skills come with practice. And just because one project looks great this time doesn't mean another one will look equally as good six months from now. Why? Because practice *does* make all the difference in the world. Without appliquéing on a steady basis, one can become rusty. Unfortunately.

---

 

©