I am a glutton for punishment.... My GF signed us up for an applique class ( it was her turn to pick a class for us to attend.) ....We are suppose to learn several different methods for hand applique. I have never been fond of hand work but this looks half way fun as we can pick our own designs from several choices of patterns. We do small practice piece that teaches us the technique we are suppose to be learning then we have a month to finish a block ... MY GF is doing an Baltimore Album... I have selected several block patterns from Edyta Sitar and Jane Townson ( they all use the same techniques but it is more my style of decore and quilting) .... Just wondering ...
What is your favorite applique method / technique???? and why?
Hand or machine? Hand:
Needle turn?
ladder stitch
Back basting prepared templates un- prepared , needle turn freezer paper on top
freezer paper underneath cut away Machine: invisible thread edges raw edge applique fusible....... full template or windowed button holed or zig zag
LadyRags: What is your favorite applique method / technique???? and why? Hand or machine? Hand: Needle turn? ladder stitch Back basting prepared templates un- prepared , needle turn freezer paper on top freezer paper underneath cut away Machine: invisible thread edges raw edge applique fusible....... full template or windowed button holed or zig zag
When I started sewing I was very intimidated buy the words hand applique. Now I prefer it to most other forms of Quilt making. I started by using Ami Simms invisible applique ( a ladder stitch). Which I did ok on until I got to some shapes. I tend to use both now. I prefer applique to hand piecing too. No need for that 1/4th inch seam allowance.
Now when it comes to marking applique , there I am odd to. It all depends on what I am working on. I do like to baste some of my pieces, and I usually do it from the back.with thread, or I position them and use pins on the back side of the background.
I do use freezer paper for some templates. But not circles...then I always use a template material that can be ironed.I have just recently started doing fusible applique. And when possible I window it. I have determined that I like steam a seam, and misty fuse the best. Misty fuse is slighty messy but has no rough feel in the finished piece.
LadyRags:What is your favorite applique method / technique???? and why?
my favorite applique method is needle turn, hands down. it's about the journey, this is how i relax. i like needle turn the best, because it requires the least steps. i have taken classes from one of the best applique artists in the country and from her i have learned how to make any piece fit perfectly every time. it is pretty time comsuming , but in a pinch i will resort to her method. most of the time i just fly by the seat of my pants. i cut out a rough shape and applique it down. i loosely pin baste with a pin or two.
i mostly use freezer paper templates. you can draw your image and fold the paper and iron it to make a stiff template material that's cheap.
i like machine applique, but i can't do it at home. usually i do a button hole. i don't like raw edge techniques. i've done them , i don't like them.
i use whatever technique is going to give the best results with the least amount of work. gini
gini in north idaho
Lady Rags, for applique - it all depends on what I am doing with it - whether it needs to be hand done - or machine done - raw edge - needle turn - i can do them all and there is not one that I like better then any other.
I will say that I do like Beth Ferrier's method of machine applique that looks like you did it by hand. I have done 100s of flowers on my quilt that was her pattern called Moon dance and had people complement me on how well my needle turn applique looked and was done and it was all done on the machine. I told them this and they told me I lied... but for this quilt where I was making 100s of flowers I didn't want to do them needle turn.
I also have done Eleanor Burns method on her Baltimore quilt style quilt and loved it. But I am a true quiltoholic so not a true test of your question. I love them all!
LadyRags--
I like to do fusible machine applique, which I always edge with either a blanket stitch or (as in the case of the quilt I'm working on currently) some kind of decorative stitch because I don't like to leave a raw edge on the applique. I also like to use Eleanor Burns' method of stuffing, turning, the applique pieces and then stitching them down either by machine or by hand (I'm not very good at handwork, but practice, practice is helping and as Gini says, it is relaxing). I've tried needle turn and using freezer paper templates, too. Applique is one of my favorite techniques, so I keep trying to get better at it.
Kissimmee, FL
I am fairly new to applique but I really enjoy needle turn for hand applique. I use fusible web and some type of decorative stitch for machine applique.
Vinton, Virginia
LadyRags: What is your favorite applique method / technique???? and why?
I like to copy and print off my patterns with thick printer paper. Then I glue the cut out shapes on the fabric. I cut the fabric about 1/4 inch longer than the cut out piece. Now I glue the 1/4 edge with a glue stick and fold the fabric on to the shape. I put more on the fabric that I just folded over the pattern and I glue it to the background. I hand sew or blanket stitch on my machine. Once I have gone all the way around I make a little cut in the back and pull out the paper. No nonsense. I like fast and easy. I don't have time to mess around with needle turning or that white stuff you sew on. I don't like freezer paper either. It just doesn't stand up like the thicker paper. I have a nice leather thimble because it is a little hard on the fingers with the glue. The first time I tried it I about pricked my finger raw. If I happen to make a glue mess I just use a damp cloth and wipe it off. Fast, easy and best of all accurate!! That is my 2 cents.
Lady Rags,
I'm fairly new to appliqué myself but I like needleturn the best. I also like back basting. I use the ladder stitch. One of my first books on appliqué was Ami Simms book on invisible applique.
I started Eleanor Burns' "Appliqué in a Day" project late last year. I bought the pre-printed fusible but I still stitch it in place by hand after fusing.
gini:i have taken classes from one of the best applique artists in the country and from her i have learned how to make any piece fit perfectly every time.
Gini, who was this instructor?
On the banks of the Mississippi River in north central Minnesota (Brainerd lakes area)
mary sorenson out of florida. her web site is maryappliques. gini
My favorite technique is "needleturn" and "back basting applique".
Jutta, CA
I have tried several different styles since I started the Dear Jane quilt and now the BOM with the applique group. And I still find myself going back to needle turn. I like Ami Simm's invisible applique with the ladder stitch if you have a large shape to applique and if it doesn't have a lot of tight turns. So I am back to needle turn.
I am inhibited a lot from doing needle turn as with my arthritis my hands do not allow me to use my needle to turn that fabric under but i do a type of applique that the best quilters i know have problems distinguishing that I didn't do it needle turn which made me beam...teehee... i also had a ton of people at the winter quilt show that I entered Moondance in ask me how I needle turned all those flowers and it was nice to say I didn't that I used Beth's method - it looks just like needle turn but is done on your machine.
it is a God send to a woman with arthritis in her hands!
I tried a tiny bit of needle-turn applique once and I didn't like it one bit. I had a lot of trouble and it just didn't come out looking as nice as I wanted it to (never mind that it was my first time-I must do it perfectly the first time right? :P ) I like to use fusible web and then machine stitch a blanket stitch around the edges. I used to appique shirts and then I would use fusible and satin stitching.
I bought some wool felt so I'm going to hand stitch all of that when I find a pattern I like. That'll be blanket stitched.
Gale
gale, this site has a lot of patterns for wool. gini
www.buggybarnquilts.com