Originally Posted by merry
Originally Posted by KastleKitty
Thanks for the link. It's the closest I've come to finding anything like the real Dianthus. Took close-up pix of them in my garden & wanted to be able to applique one.
I've come up with a process that I use to make my own applique patterns. I hope I can explain it so you can understand it clearly. If you have a paint program on your computer, you can use the solid line tool that makes a continuous line to draw the outline of your close up photo from your garden. Copy your picture first to save the original in case you make an error.
I use Picasa (free download) to make it B&W. Next I open it in Paint, temporarily enlarge it to 6 or 8 times while I am working on it. Use one of the thicker continuous lines and draw around the outline of the flower boldly in black. You may want to make the picture square and eliminate any blank area outside the drawing. Erase some of the non-essential stuff so you don't waste ink, then print it.
Sometimes I will use tracing paper on top of my print to clean it up, but many times I will just cut it out and then paste it onto a saved cereal box to make a template, especially if you are only making it once. If you think you need 1/4" in some areas for underlayment you can mark it before you cut. Once you have pasted it to cardboard you can add your 1/4" if you want to turn it under. It takes some work, but you get an original pattern. I do this for most of my applique.
I love all quilting, but applique is probably my favorite because I love to embellish it. If you decide to make your own pattern this way, and need a little more technical help, let me know!