There are some glues out there as well.. my friend did an applique recently and cut around some horses to put in centre of some blocks she used the glue and stitched around it worked very well and not at all bulky . I am presently working with freezer paper.. but not gotten any farther than ironing the pieces on to it. I like the idea of taking the freezer paper out first..I think I will try that as opposed to cutting it out later.