Originally Posted by
J.M.
That's pretty much what I was thinking, and needle turn doesn't use paper (at least, the method I use doesn't), so I didn't see any reason to do it. Yet, every time I see someone posting the back of an appliqued block, I see they've cut out the fabric behind the applique. So I was like 'is there a reason to do this that I am missing?'
On one of my applique projects, I am not removing any of the fabric from the back - the pieces are small and leaving the background in place supports them better.
On another, the underlying stems show through the flowers and being folded edge bias strips, they will eventually cause wear lines on the flowers, so I am cutting out the area behind those flowers. Then the flower prints are showing through the solid centers, so I'm cutting out the print fabric behind those pieces, too. I'm leaving all the fabric behind the leaves and stems, but removing the fabric behind these flowers makes the blocks much nicer looking.
Plus, it leaves me the option of adding an extra layer of batting under the flowers - I still have seven more of these blocks to finish before I have to decide, but I think it might be a nice textural element to have that extra little bit of dimension behind these flowers.