I have done some Sunbonnet Sue applique -- a 45X60 crib quilt. The Sunbonnet Sue patterns available are fabulous -- a LOT of work, but fabulous. I recently appliqued some large lettering for a quilt-top (baby), but the stabilizer I used just didn't agree with my sewing machine. I messed up so many times I wore a hole in the quilt top. SO, then I had to go to the "commercially-made" appliques to cover up the hole. No one but me will ever know where the hole is/was, though, so that's cool. By using the fusible and then the buttonhole stitck along the edges (using invisible thread), I was able to turn out a block that was really special.
I think it's a matter of your own preference, and being a rank amateur, I'm still learning!
Jeanette Frantz