Originally Posted by
katier825
Some people use black for all their appliques. I prefer to match the background of the applique piece I am going around. If it is close, I use it. If I don't have a good match, I would usually go darker rather than lighter if my fabric color is in between my thread colors.
Falling back on a counted cross stitch trick, most CC design outlining is done in a very dark brown. It's not quite as "in your face" as black can be.