heartsofull

You can count me in to chat! I am new to quilting but have studied off and on about it for over 2 years. I have done some quilting but have not made enough squares yet to complete anything. I am in the process of cutting shapes to make an applique quilt.

mojo11

I do needle turn hand applique so I can't help you ladies that machine applique. Sorry.

lynnie

I do needle turn and machine. I started a Christmas quilt 20 yrs ago all needle turn. then did a few blocks more about 2 yrs ago on the machine. don't know if I should mix this. what do you all think of that. I usually do all hand or all machine. I love some of the block, and they intricate, the hand ones.
so what do you all think about mixing the two.

Littledreamdevil

I use to do hand applique, But I have multiple sclerosis so I only do applique on my sewing machine now because my hands don't work the way they should anymore. I feel if I can still do what I enjoy ( applique and quilting) then doing it by machine is ok with me.
Lynnie you ask if it was ok to do hand applique and machine applique on the same project. I don't see why not. If it pleases you go for it. I think a finished project done well is better than a unfinished project waiting to get done

Littledreamdevil

I use what ever Stabilizer is need for the project. I do my applique by machine now and I have had no problem with
and project I have constructed.

giquilt

It is your quilt do as you want. Your needleturn skills have probably improved too over 20 years!
I needleturn too, but recently made a machine applique pillow.

madster

I fell in love with the Dear William BOM quilt and purchased the kit. It's very detailed and has many small, intricate pieces. I can't decide if I should do it by hand or machine. I'm worried that the pieces are so tiny that turning under will be a problem; I just can't imagine doing this pattern with raw edges though. Does anybody have advice or experience with this type of project? Thank you!!

Genden

The Dear William quilt pattern is designed by Michele Hill of Australia. She machine appliqués all her quilts and the patterns are designed for machine applique. I have made four quilts from Michele Hill's patterns. I hand appliqued the first one, William Morris and Friends. It took me a year to complete the applique, so I machine appliqued the next three. I would not recommend hand appliquing Dear William. For raw edge appliqué, I used Mettler silk finish thread and matched the color of the applique piece. I also used blanket stitch, very close together--not as close as satin stitch, but quite close. It blends well with a nice look. This is the way Michele does her machine applique. I have three of her books and have studied her technique. If machine applique for these patterns is good enough for the designer, it is good enough for me.

Suz

Several years ago, there was a healthy exchange of ideas, tips, tutes and photos using all kinds of applique. Everything was on applique. Someone along the way, named us the Applique Club. Let us start such an exchange again. Seemed like we talked everyday for months and months.

What is your favorite kind of applique as there are many many ways to do so? Have you appliqued an entire quilt top or atleast over half of the top? Have you done broderie purse and what did you learn from the experience? What is your current project?

For me, my favorite method is back-basting applique and needle-turn stitching. I like this method owing to accuracy in placement of the applique pieces. Hand applique also makes us very portable. Yes, I have done broderie purse and learned one important tip. My background piece was "tanish" or light. The fabrics I purchased to cut out the flowers and leaves were on darker background. Wrong!!! Next time I will choose the background to match so those little nooks and crannies along the edge of a shape will blend into the background. Right now I am working on a project that is lots and lots of leaf shapes. I am nearing the end of the blocks and will attempt to post a photo when ready.

Please let us exchange thoughts and ask more question that I have here. The answers lie within we quilters. Thanks.

Prism99

I cannot do hand work anymore because of arthritis. My favorite method is invisible machine applique using freezer paper (self-taught from Harriet Hargrave's book). I've developed some shortcuts for myself over the years.

Instead of a glue stick, I like to use paste. It is much faster for me to run a paste-laden finger around the edge of the paper than trying to use a glue stick. Unfortunately, my favorite paste (Elmer's children's paste -- the kind we had in kindergarten that smells like peppermint) is no long made. I do have several old containers of it that I dilute with water to get to the right consistency, but I will have to do a lot of experimentation in the future to find something with a similar consistency.

To make cutting of the paper faster (when multiples are needed), I trace the pattern just once. Then I stack 5 or 6 layers of freezer paper on top of each other (cut larger than the pattern) with the traced pattern on top. I iron down the edges to keep the layers together. That way when I cut, I am cutting 5 or 6 pieces at a time. How many pieces I can layer depends on the intricacy of the shape; more intricate requires fewer layers for accuracy, but simple shapes can be cut with more layers.

An even faster way to cut freezer paper templates is to use my Accuquilt Go! I currently have a butterfly quilt in progress using the Accuquilt die. I found that for this method, I ***really*** like the Jensen freezer paper sheets. They are heavier than regular freezer paper and come flat, so they are very easy to run through the machine. I may switch to these sheets for my regular freezer paper cutting too. They are worth the extra money to me because I no longer have to struggle with curling sheets.

I have a quick way to remove the freezer paper too. After completing the quilt top, I turn it over and cut away the background fabric from the paper (this is pretty easy and fast because the freezer paper helps prevent me from cutting into the applique). Then I lay the top wrong side up on my kitchen island. Using a brush, I paint water on all the applique seams. The water softens the paste so that, after about 10 minutes, it is very easy to lift up the seams and remove the freezer paper.

I have tried different threads and different stitches for invisible machine applique, but I still prefer the YLI nylon monofilament thread I started out with years ago (shows less than any others I have tried, including Superior mono-poly) and the reversed blind hem stitch.