Needle-Turn Applique and FMQ
 

Hello! I'm working on my first needle-turn applique quilt and am down to the quilting. Since it's a wall hanging I've chosen to FMQ pretty densely (doing more than meandering for the first time), which is working out all right so far. However, on the areas with the appliques, am I supposed to quilt around the edges? I wouldn't think so, but when I look at different quilts online sometimes they do and sometimes I can't tell - and none of the books I have say a thing about it.

I probably wouldn't sweat it except I'm finding areas I evidently didn't applique well enough so there's a little fraying here and there and a couple of things need repaired. :o I sure am learning a lot with this one!

I usually quilt around my appliques. it makes them look like they are lifted up a little. I just finished a quilt with a large applique in the center and I did quilt a little across some of the pieces because I thought the distance was too much. Then, I meandered around in other spots.

Good luck and let us see your creation.

Thanks, Nanna! So do you catch the edges of the appliqued shapes, or stitch just outside of them?

I either do the quilt design in the white spaces around the applique or a meandering stitch fairly close to the edges but I don't actually quilt the edges of the applique itself. As Nanna said, if you quilt around the appliqued piece, it gives a slight trapunto effect.

Excellent, that's what I thought but I just couldn't find it anywhere!

Thank you both!

Thanks from me too. I am just about to quilt a baby quilt with Noah's Ark appliqués and didn't have the foggiest idea how to quilt it. It has so many appliqués, 10 blocks with a different animal in each block that I think I will have to do some quilting across the appliqués.