Okie:
I am new to applique and learned to do this watching my sister do her first applique quilt. It is easy but it should be noted that Steam-a-Seam does make the fabric a little stiff. Plus it is a little expensive, around 5-6 dollars a yard, which is how I buy it. I did find it on the internet and ordered some and that was $4.10 a yard.
I am currently making pillow shams to match the quilts I made for my 3 grandsons this past Christmas. I did not have that much material left from two of the quilts so I decided to do appliques on all three shams. I am doing a zig-zag stitch around each applique and that looks really pretty. The nice thing is you can do it in decorative threads so it really pops the applique out. So I am not folding the edges, which I think is the traditional way of doing it. You have to make sure that you catch all the edges when you sew aroundf. Did a lot of ripping out, LOL. :lol: I am still learning but they are coming out nice.
Did email mgshaw, she did the post on "Here is my Chicken Quilt so Far." I loved what she did so I asked her what she used to do her appliques and she used Wonder Under by Pellon. She said it is softer then Steam-a-Seam and it is much cheaper too. It is a iron on interfacing and she purchased it in WalMart for $0.47 a yard. I am going to buy some when I come to NY in July and try that. Just thought you might be interested.
Sincerely,
Penny