Appliqué - first attempt

While I have done other sewing, patchwork and quilting, I've avoided appliqué in the past, because it looks hard!

But I've decided to try it and have cut all my pieces out and fused onto one sided fusible interfacing/stabilizer.

Not the two side one that sticks the two fabrics together.

Ive then trimmed and glued down the seam allowance to the wrong side.

So.....how do I attach them to the backing fabric? Can I hand sew it on there or does it have to be machine sewn?

I've never really done the really dense zigzag before and am wondering how I will go as there are lots of curves in the shapes.

I think it would look nice with contrasting blanket stitch but I dont know whether it will be strong enough to keep it in place

Any ideas?

I'm not quite sure what the question is. Once you have ironed it on the wrong side and trimmed you can pull the paper off and it will leave it sticky, and then iron (sticky side down of course) to the backing fabric. You'll then need to do a blanket stitch around it. You can do it by machine, but the smaller it is, the harder it is to use a machine. I always do mine by hand. It's the funnest part of quilt making. ;)

The question is how to attach the pieces to the backing fabric.

It doesn't leave it sticky when you pull it off.
I was told to glue the seam allowance to the back of the interfacing, leaving it in, and sew the whole thing on to the block.

But I've never done it before, not have i done much hand sewing, but I can do blanket stitch, and it's rustic looking so it might be ok.

It wont feel sticky until you heat it. Okay, you wanting to do the much harder applique with the hidden edge, is that right?

I'm trying to add photos. I'll show you what I mean if you want, but I don't do the fold over seam.

I'm not sure I know.
Immdoing it this way because the appliqué block in the beginners sampler quilt inhavent finished did it this way (did all the other blocks but avoided that one)
As far as I can tell it's so you don't have a raw edge on the right side because you can still see the stitching about a quarter inch in from the edge of the appliquéd piece.
I just don't know that I could machine sew the circles that well, and it's for a gift.

I'm not use to doing photo's, so let's see if this works and you can tell me if this is what you are after...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...7&l=90d50279ab

Yes, like that.
Im really hoping to not have to start over.
Open to different/easier ways to do it though!

Love the last one, I love those quilts but my appliqué fear always stopped me trying them

To do this applique (known as raw edge) you:

1. Draw image parts on lizafix paper
2. Cut out leaving 1/2 centimetre clearance
3. Iron on wrong side of selected fabric
4. Cut around line
5. Pull backing off and place on backing fabric
6. Iron in place
7. Blanket stitch or similar around exposed edges


Hidden stitch can be found here.

Yes! That would be my preferred way it sounds much easier.
Will require need to sneak out to Lincraft tomorrow.
I will put pics up when it's done.

Thanks so much Yeddi

Beautiful Quilts Yeddi :)

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Yes! That would be my preferred way it sounds much easier.
Will require need to sneak out to Lincraft tomorrow.
I will put pics up when it's done.

Thanks so much Yeddi

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No worries. I look forward to seeing it when it's done! Applique is actually lots of fun and very therapeutic (but I hand quilt most of mine in front of the TV at night). Once you've got the hang of it, I doubt you'll go back. It's my favourite part of quilting, and one of the cool things about block quilts like the baby blanket is you can just put the block with some thread in your hand bag and pull it out when waiting for appointments etc. Ones like the cow and pig that only have a few pieces and are a little bit bigger are really, really easy. Ones like the fairies though, can be a pain in the bum because their parts are so small and there's heaps of little bits to put together and if you move one by the smallest bit it throws the whole picture out of whack. For instance, the fairy alone in the close up is 12 separate pieces and that was one of the easier ones to put together. I'm glad I did it, but it's been a LOT of work. For DS's quilt I'm going to be doing an alien one that is big blocks again, which should be a lot quicker and a little less frustrating.

Thanks TT. :)

Question: where the pieces to be appliquéd overlap ( I'm doing an angel and there are 7 pieces) do I iron the all on first and then do all the sewing at the end?

Yep, you have to make sure everything is where you want it then iron, then sew. You can add after the fact if need be but it must go on top.