Applique Patterns: Is there anything else out there besides bird & flower patterns?
 

I want to learn to machine applique. The books on the market seem to only use birds and flowers. I"M NOT A BIRD & FLOWER KINDA GIRL. Can anyone suggest or point me in the direction of an applique book that has other designs/themes other than the birds & flowers?

Thanks in advance for all your help. :)

Check these out. http://www.thimblecottage.com/.

I just did a quilt by her. Lots of fun applique quilts. The designer's name is Pearl Louise.

My friend just made an applique quilt called Merry Merry Snowmen. It's beautiful! I just ordered the block of the month of it. It's laser cut and fused already. You can buy it uncut, also. Just google 'Merry Merry Snowmen and lots of places that sell the kits will show up. You can also just purchase the pattern.

I have a book that is beach/ocean stuff...Seascapes by Cheryl Peck..its foundation piecing but you can adapt the shapes to applique.

I made 2 qpplique quilts with very specific patterns - guns on one and Armadillos & Butterflies on the other. For the armadillos & butterflies - I googled Armadillo coloring pages (& same for butterfly/butterlies) - searched the coloring pages for ones I liked, printed them, decided on my fabrics, applied fusibles, cut out, fused to fabric, machine appliqued.
It's a more intimadating thought process to figure it all out than it is to actually do it. Take the step!

I plan to make a dresden plate quilt and I will applique it. Probably by machine using a straight stitch. I love birds and flowers. My way of thinking is you can applique anything you can think of.

you can applique anything you want. Go geometric for some fun. Do other kinds of animals. How about cars?

I'm loving this - http://www.amazon.com/Once-upon-Quil...iry+tale+quilt

Once Upon a Quilt: Fairy Tales in Fabric by Bonnie Kaster

You know, a "flowery" pattern can be updated by your fabric choices. You might find traditional patterns are more to your taste if you use non-traditional materials.

If you can trace it, you can applique it. You can look for designs anywhere.

Absolutely. If you can't draw you can search for free coloring pages and trace off what ever you want. And free coloring pages exist for just about anything you can think of. A search engine is an appliquer's best friend.

Try Fat Cat Patterns http://www.fatcatpatterns.com/. They have a lot of different patterns. I'm doing the free BOM Angels right now.

McKenna Ryan has some BEAUTIFUL appliqué patterns and kits.

I made a baby quilt some years ago, using a coloring page with a bear and balloons. Unfortunately, did not get a picture before I gave it away, but the little girl dragged that quilt everywhere. The only time the mom could was it was when the baby was fast asleep, lol
I would agree with the previous poster "... if you can trace it, you can applique it...". I would also add, if you like it, do it.

If you love wild life here are two book spirit of the northwoods, a forest of quilts. I have both and love them. And if you like lighthouse get the book lighthouse of New England.

I just bought this book

http://www.abbeylanequilts.com/SIMPLECHOICES.html

The appliques are big without small pieces, and you only need a few for the quilt. Great for beginners.

there are tons of applique quilts---cats, dogs, fish, *McKenna Ryan has a wide assortment* we've done lots & lots of appliques using coloring book pages---you can pretty much applique anything you can find a picture of.

Children's coloring books or online pages. I once downloaded a Welsh Dragon and appliqued it to a center medallion for a quilt.

What's your favorite thing, animal or hobby?

i pick a topic, cats, go to bing, and find color pages there. I've done funky cat, cats and dogs, farm, chickens, bugs ect. if you can outline it, you can app it.

Try http://www.bunnyhilldesigns.com/stor...s/?category=18 Their designs are Christmas, houses, seasons, houses, etc

So true lisa! My favorite are the ones you take a photograph of a person and turn it into a appliqued wall hanging. I also like the kitchen appliances one by bee in my bonnet.

I have seen some with cars, houses, toys, and animals too. Then there is the holiday ones with those fun images. Halloween, Christmas, valentine's day, fourth of July (patriotic), well you get it.

It was so cool to see someone recommend Pearl Louise - she is a designer who owns a quilt shop where I live. I'm currently taking a BOM from her that includes piecing and embroidery.

I have enjoyed doing the big animals from the Bigfork Bay Cotton company. http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/qu...1/animals.html

My wolf is in the second picture. http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t184211.html

Try www.freeapplique.com Also any free coloring pages. As others have said if you can trace it you can applique it.

Somewhere on this site is a fantastic quilt. It was appliquéd and then sent for quilting. Both are wonderful. But no flowers etc unfortunately for me Christmas is a popular theme. I don't do christmas a.

I have digitized the designs in Merry, Merry Snowmen for appliqueing on my embroidery machine. There is a Yahoo group for machine appliqué - mostly done on embroidery machines. It is called Applique by Machine. I love doing appliqué on my machine both the embroidery machine and on a regular machine.

I'm with all of those above who recommend tracing and coloring books. I have appliquéd all kinds of animals including skunks, porcupines, snakes, opossums etc. Some of them were traced from cookie cutters.

My first attempt at wool felt quilting was leaves that I picked up outside. I traced them and the veins can be quilted in.

I hope you will let us know what you end up doing!

How could I have forgotten, Don't Look Now! http://dontlooknow.typepad.com/

I find great designs in coloring books. you need to seek out the large picture book.

I get a lot of my applique from doing searches for specific coloring pages ie: airplane coloring pages, geometric coloring pages, arrow coloring pages
or try a silimar search using the word silhouette ...cat silhouette , airplane silhouette as these designs tend to be simplistic enough for hand applique as well as machine applique.

I also just did an appliqué quilt be Pearl Louise and it came out really nice. It was very easy to follow.

Oh yes... like others have said, if you can imagine it, you can applique it. I made my nephew a skateboarder quilt last year. I found the cutest fabric and traced off one of the skateboarders. Then, I blew it up with my printer and traced it on freezer paper. I always make 2 copies of the image so I have a reference and then number the pieces. And here it is..... an appliqued skateboarder. I've also traced a mermaid off a platter at a beach condo we rented.... then made a wall hanging with the mermaid, a shell, and sand dollar, etc. You can applique anything.

Dover publications is a great inexpensive source for coloring books and geometric designs. As others have mentioned, you can have them reprinted to any size you want. They are copyrite free so there is no problem there. Some of the designs are very geometric, art deco, the possibilities are almost limitless.
Nanna love your skate boarder quilt. So creative, bet it was a lot of fun to do.

Try childerns coloring/activity books for different pictures. Or google subjects your interested in, trace and copy. Even pictures in the news paper, you can copy/scan and then copy, making your own pictures, even put two together.

I sit and Bing (other Google) for pictures of things I want to applique to practice - just as I do for quilting designs. I enlarge and go to town.

Her website is http//www.pineneedles.com you don't have to buy the whole quilt but can do a block for a wallhanging just to see if you like it. Not sure its for a beginner... there is also anne sutton of bunny hill designs
whos pattern is merry merry christmas and she has alot of others on her webpage

I mostly make my own now.

In Google images just type 'line art' after whatever you want. I tried 'cat line art' and this was the result.

have you gone to www.fatcatpatterns.com she has 5 pages of free applique, dogs, angles, bears, chickens and the list goes on and on.....join her group she is good to us.....

If you like Southwest designs, try horseshoes, hats, boots, or Kokepelli. I do mine with the embroidery machine. It's so easy. I love it. Coloring books are a good source.

I have used cookie cutters for templates. Also coloring books for young people, simple lines open imagation..enjoy