pollyjvan9

I love using wool also. One of the first quilts I made was from black/grey wool from coats at the thrift stores. I washed and felted it, cut it into different size squares and rectangles, hand embroidered a few primitive, large stitches flowers on each piece. Sewed them all together, backed with flannel and gave it to my son and his wife. They said it was so heavy they would be able to stay warm at the North Pole, but they loved it. I still buy all my wool at thrift stores. When I find a piece of really beautiful wool I am elated.

Tashana

I am an absute beginner when it comes to wool applique, so there are many questions that I cannot answer because I simply do not know the answers yet. What I do know is that quilts made with felted wool can be washed because the wool has already been shrunk through the felting process. I would also make sure to prewash the background especially if it is flannel. I think that fusing the woool applique is generally a good idea, but again, I am no expert. As for the type of needle, I use one that fits the thread, very non-technical answer, sorry. I will take all the advice I can get before I venture into any bigger, more time and money consuming projects. Thank you everybody for your input and keep it coming

pocoellie

I have a bunch of wool that I need to felt, because I've been wanting to try wool applique. Have you seen the wee folk art.com? They have a bunch of wool applique block patterns. Have fun, I'll get to them eventually. LOL

ckcowl

[QUOTE=feline fanatic;6235291]It is my understanding the allure of wool applique is it is all raw edge, you don't have to turn under because it doesn't fray because the wool has been felted (washed and dryed so it shrunk up good and tight). At least that is my understanding. You just buttonhole stitch around. But do you have to fuse it? I haven't inspected it closely when seeing it at booths or in shops. It is very appealing though.
I have never used any fusible product on my wool appliques- I use freezer paper to cut out my shapes-then just place a small sharp pin to hold the shape in its place until I stitch it down- I have seen a couple patterns that called for fusible but it is not something I see a purpose for- a spot of glue may work well to hold your pieces if you don't want to use pins, or just hold them with your fingers. ...as for the question about machine appliqueing your pieces- if that's what you want to do- no reason why you couldn't- just use a blanket stitch- wide enough to hold the edges of the wools. it is such a nice 'hand project' though