i love hand applique but had to give it up do to problems with my right hand. tried fusing the designs and using invisible thread to secure them so the quilt could be washed. worked great. applique with invisible thread in the bobbin also. i had to loosen my upper tension to get the stitches balanced. use a very fne sharp needle. all machines are different so test your tension on scraps. to keep the edges of the fabric from getting fuzzy i use a very fine line of fray check on the edges before i remove the paper backing from the fusible.