Easy Appliqué
This will be a very quick post to explain how to use Appliqué to put the stems on the pumpkins for my fall placemats.
First, draw a stem on a piece of paper. I hope you are better at drawing then I am!
If you want your stem to look exactly like what you have drawn, you need a reverse image. I just turn over my paper and use a marker to redraw the lines on the other side.
Now you need a piece of fusible web. You can buy it at any quilting store.
Place your paper pattern under your fusible web and trace the pattern on the paper backing of the web.
I'm going to tell you right off that I have never taken an Appliqué course, so it is more than possible that the way I do things might be different from the way you would be taught in a course. However, my methods work for me!
Remember that the purpose of sewing around the edges of the fabric is to make sure that the fabric stays in place. However, you also want it to look nice. You should choose either a thread colour that matches your fabric or one that contrasts. Here I'm going for matches. I read somewhere that you want the edge of your thread to just go over the raw edge of the fabric you ironed on when you Appliqué. I try to stick to that rule, but remember that I do want to insure that my stitches cover the raw edge.
I want to hide my threads, so I use a stippling trick of bringing my bobbin thread to the top of my fabric. You do this by putting your needle over where you want the first stitch to start, and then holding on to your top thread while you make the first stitch. This will pull the bottom thread up. Grab the bobbin thread and pull it up a bit. Then I move both of my threads under the pressure foot towards the front. I hand turn my wheel to make the first couple of stitches, being sure that the zigzag motion goes on either side of my threads and holds them down. Then I trim my thread ends so that they don't exceed the side of the fabric I am sewing down. I typically leave around an inch of thread if my fabric is long enough. Keep the threads in front of the pressure foot, and sew over them to hide them.
Appliqué is something you have to practice to become good at, but if this is your first time, take it slow and you will be ok. Let your feed dogs move the fabric back while you keep a gentle pull on the back of the fabric too. You want to do this so that your threads don't get tangled in a seam or something on the back. If you have a curve, gently pull your fabric where it needs to go. Stitch until you reach the edge of your fabric. Keep your needle down in the fabric, lift the pressure foot, and pivot your fabric.
First, draw a stem on a piece of paper. I hope you are better at drawing then I am!
Now you need a piece of fusible web. You can buy it at any quilting store.
Follow the instructions on your fusible web, but basically it will be trim the web around the pattern, and iron it onto the wrong side of your fabric. Then trim on your pattern lines.
Remove the paper backing and iron in place on your fabric.
Next you have to either use your sewing machine to sew around the edges, or sew around by hand using blanket stitch. Since here I have placemats that will be washed often, I'm going to use a tight zigzag on my sewing machine. Every sewing machine is different, so read the manual for your machine. I have to use the pressure foot for zigzag and choose the zigzag option for sewing. I also have to adjust stitch width and length.
I'm going to tell you right off that I have never taken an Appliqué course, so it is more than possible that the way I do things might be different from the way you would be taught in a course. However, my methods work for me!
Remember that the purpose of sewing around the edges of the fabric is to make sure that the fabric stays in place. However, you also want it to look nice. You should choose either a thread colour that matches your fabric or one that contrasts. Here I'm going for matches. I read somewhere that you want the edge of your thread to just go over the raw edge of the fabric you ironed on when you Appliqué. I try to stick to that rule, but remember that I do want to insure that my stitches cover the raw edge.
I want to hide my threads, so I use a stippling trick of bringing my bobbin thread to the top of my fabric. You do this by putting your needle over where you want the first stitch to start, and then holding on to your top thread while you make the first stitch. This will pull the bottom thread up. Grab the bobbin thread and pull it up a bit. Then I move both of my threads under the pressure foot towards the front. I hand turn my wheel to make the first couple of stitches, being sure that the zigzag motion goes on either side of my threads and holds them down. Then I trim my thread ends so that they don't exceed the side of the fabric I am sewing down. I typically leave around an inch of thread if my fabric is long enough. Keep the threads in front of the pressure foot, and sew over them to hide them.
Appliqué is something you have to practice to become good at, but if this is your first time, take it slow and you will be ok. Let your feed dogs move the fabric back while you keep a gentle pull on the back of the fabric too. You want to do this so that your threads don't get tangled in a seam or something on the back. If you have a curve, gently pull your fabric where it needs to go. Stitch until you reach the edge of your fabric. Keep your needle down in the fabric, lift the pressure foot, and pivot your fabric.
Bring your needle up and have a close look at where it will go down next. Because this is a zigzag stitch, it may be positioned to go down well away from where you need it! If that is the case, simply move your fabric so that the needle will go down where you want. Don't worry about pulling the thread a little. Your machine compensates!
Continue until you get to back where you started. Carefully sew over top of the first few stitches and cut your thread. My machine cuts mine for me underneath. If your machine doesn't do that you will have to cut your thread on top and pull it to the bottom of your fabric. Hopefully all went well. If for some reason your thread gets caught and you get a bunch, don't panic. Use your trusty seam ripper to remove the bad patch, and sew again. Appliqué is very forgiving!
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