Have done applique before and tried to do this after I sandwiched everything together..... NEVER AGAIN UGHHH!!!! Never have I had such a hard time manuvering things around. I would sew around the flowers and whatever else you want to applique before sandwiching it all together and then when you are quilting then you can put in the detail and it will show up really nice on the back if you want it to. Hope this helps you not to have the same headache that I have had. Jennifer