I have never hand appliqued but would like to learn. Is this something that once you prepare the items you want to applique you can take with you and work on while you're having to wait? Because of the gas prices and I live 50 mi one way from where I work I have found myself having to wait 1 to 2 hr for my ride home. I sit and think of all time I'm wasting. I like to read but to me reading is not very productive. Can anyone suggest a design, book, etc that would help a beginner. There was a site linked on the board that really peaked my interest in hand applique. Any suggestions, ideals, etc would be most appreciative. The clock is ticking, so I better get to work. EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT THURSDAY!

I looove loove loove to hand applique!!! I find it very relaxing and yes you can take it anywhere!!!!

Here is a link someone gave me that has some really nice applique projects.

http://www.fatcatpatterns.com/baltimore_blues.htm

Cheers

Sindy's patterns are great at fatcat. Just a hint, start with larger pieces and once you feel more comfortable, attack those points and tiny circles.

There are lots of techniques for applique. I prefer to use freezer paper templates. I also hand tack most of my pieces. I have found that w/ all the bouncing/jostling in my purse, sometimes the pieces come "unstuck". Tacking them down keeps me organzied, especially if I haven't worked on it for a while.

Good luck. It's a great way to relax and pass the time.
HTH,
Julie

That is the site I was on the peaked my interest. I just don't really know how to start. I want to to the Baltimore Blues but I better start with something a little smaller, then work my way up. I have a sheet that shows me how to start, but I need one that gives the applique stitch you use, how you join pieces that are connected or butt up against each other. I understand the pattern sequence but stitching them so you don't see the stitch or cause puckering. The Baltimore Blues were machine appliqued according the site owner. She sent me the whole set. As soon as I get paid I'm going to donate to her site. I have never been on a site that gives so much for nothing. I saw a title to a book called Teach Yourself to hand applique so thought I might look into that.
I hope this helps me relax. I need it. I saw one on Sindy's site of a chicken that was large pieces and thought I might try that first. I understand how the freezer paper techique works but I still have questions. I would like to learn the turn under with the needle instead of ironing it down. Do you take the freezer paper off before you start this, and if so how do you keep the shape? I have the questions in my mind but I may not be asking them right? Please excuse type o's and unstructed sentences. Hope you can read between the lines and make sense of my ramblings.

Okie,
I really, really want to learn applique but am mid project with 2 more behind it...it may be a while. I saw a few sites and marked them into favorites for future use. Hope you find what you need.

http://www.quiltingworks.com/howto/applique101.htm
http://www.appliquedesigns.com/html/techniques.html
http://www.theappliquesociety.org/artofapplique.htm

I just wandered around on the site, found some awesome patterns and found the "family dirt" section. I laughed so hard I cried. If you need a pick me up- go there. It's worth the reading time!

My first quilt was an applique quilt. I did needle turned applique and assmebled and stitched it by machine. Mcalls has an excellent website with lots of patterns and Quilterscache is another one. Lots of patterns are rated by degree of difficulty too. Good lUck!

I have thought of another question, I am an old counted cross stitch hound. My eyes just won't let me do it anymore even with a magnifier. When hand appliquing do you need something to keep the fabric taunt or do you keep it relaxed, etc.

I use an embroidery hoop to work on mine. Either one as big as the whole square or one smaller, personal preference. A big hoop may be hard to handle. But either will keep things taut while you are trying to stitch. My dresden plate pieces were sewn together on the machine before sttiching to the background, but the dahalia one that I am working on now is stitched directly to the background because the pieces overlap each other to form the design.
Maybe this will help you a little. I use a back stitch and and just slip my needle under the edge of the piece, catching the background fabric at the same time, so that the stitches won't show. I can do it but explaining it with just words is hard! Hope this is clearer than mud! :lol:

I took a class on it and we used needle turn method. We didn't use a hoop at all. The stitches are TINY however, just to warn you. I am on the fence about liking it however. To me it is slow going, very frustrating and inside corners make me want to gouge my eyes out. But at the same time, it is kind of fun and oddly relaxing, maybe because I feel all old fashioned and "handy". ehhehe

I work long hours so mostly use fusibles now a days. I love the look of hand applique and admit that most of my pieces have been gentle curves rather than corners. But if anyone has the blind hem stitch on their machine, you can get the look of hand without the time it takes to do hand stitching. It requires a lot of prep work, I find. But it might be an option for someone who wants the look of hand stitching w/out the time it takes to do it!

I want to do something while I am waiting for my ride and I do most things by machine. Since lugging a machine with me is out of the question I thought of hand applique. I figure this is one of things I will love or hate, no in the middle. From the post it can go either way. You never know til you try.

I do most of mine with fusible, some I do machine blanket stitch and some I do hand blanket stitch just because I like the look. I have done some needle turn but fusible is sooo much easier! I dont use a hoop either.

This is one I just finished that I did hand blanket stitch with fusible. It was one of those "take alongs"

It isstunning!

The needle turn method is my favourite technique to appliquing!! I don't use a hoop either

I'm jealous. :) I hope to make something beautiful in the near future. I see so much I want to learn and do but there just isn't enough time. My other desire along with hand applique is to learn stain glass techiques. There is a class starting in Sept. I will have to take a day of vacation to attend. I look at this way, if I was going to work that day I would have to drive the 100 mi so why not drive it for something pleasurable. I think the class is a monthly block class. I won't get to attend each month but hopefully enough to understand.

That not having enough time is why I want a quilt as you go project such as yours. The people on this board are sooooooooo talent.

Okie,
I am doing the Baltimore Blues w/ Sindy and the Koi pond.

I trace all my pieces on freezer paper. Don't buy it from the fabric store either--go get the big Reynolds roll at the grocery store. W/ Sindy's patterns, her lines are bold enough, you can usually turn the pattern over and trace onto the freezer paper. (You have to do the pattern in reverse.)

After you trace your pattern, cut out the freezer paper "templates". Cut on the line you just finished tracing. I don't cut mine out until I"m ready to iron them to the fabric. LABEL them. Some of the B. Blues have similar sizes/shapes.

Once you have your fabrics chosen, iron your freezer paper, shiny side, to the wrong side of your fabric. Cut out around your template w/ 1/4 in seams--you can trim it smaller later. You have to remember to clip around curves so you can turn the fabric over the back of the freezer paper. Here, I usually tack down pieces w/ thread. Other techniques don't do this at all and still others use glue or glue sticks. Personal prefernce I guess.

Once all your pieces are prepared, you have to attach them to your background square. It's probably easier to work from the background to the foreground. Lay everything out before you begin to attach anything. Once you are satisfied, I remove my foreground and start w/ the background pieces. I'd refer to Sindy's layout as most of her pieces are tucked under others in the bblues pattern. I use very small stitches and try to match the thread to the applique piece. If I don't have a color that matches, or am using white as my background square, I use gray thread. I don't use a hoop either.
I made part of the 4th B. Blues block this morning. I"ll attach a photo for you.
HTH
Julie

quiltwoman, how do you remove your freezer paper? do you remove it before you finish stitching your piece or by cutting the back ? I have seen it done differently but wondered which works best.

I will remove the freezer paper on some of the smaller pieces that are "tucked under" larger pieces, once they are secured. For larger pieces I will leave a small area, take a pin and run it just behind the fabric to losen the freezer paper and pull out the freezer paper. Then, I finish stitching my little opening.

I admit, sometimes, I have to cut thru the back of the fabric to get at those tiny little ones.
HTH,
Julie

I have been intending to try the freezer paper method but always go back to fusible but think I will give it a whril,Thanks quiltwoman!

Piece O cake books are great to learn appligue I have the applique delight book and the welcome to the north pole. The books show you many ways to applique and are ere easy to follow
http://www.pieceocake.com/Books/Books.html
Dawn

No problem--glad to share my addiction with others :D
Julie

For me a good beginner applique project would be hearts on a solid square. You get to practice gentle curves and points. You can make them as big as you like. A six inch background (cut 7" then trim when applique is done) and a 4 inch heart would be good. I like to start on a straight side of the heart and head to the curve first. Use small straight pins or baste the heart in place. My preferred method is needle turn applique. When I took a class on Baltimore album blocks, I had to get bi-focals first. Guess that means my eyes are getting old. (I'm not, just my eyes!!!) LOL This could be a great scrap quilt or baby quilt depending on your choice of fabrics.
Good luck. No wasted timed allowed.

There is still another way to do applique. It involves using used dryer sheets. Cut your shape a little larger than the size you want to end up with and sew it right side down to the dryer sheet. Just trim your seam allowance a little, cut a slit in the dryer sheet and turn your shape right sides out. Press and attach to background fabric. It (the dryer sheet) is very light weight and won't add a lot of bulk or weight to your project and will keep all your raw edges neatly out of sight!

Do you mean the one called Summer Pond? The one that looks like the Koi Pond? If so, do you think you could email me the months I missed? I just found the site yesterday and love that pattern.

Oh and Okie I use silk thread, it hides and blends in soooo nicely.

Thanks so much for mentioning this!!! I had heard of it before but if I don't write it down, I forget . . .and I'm doing a hand applique quilt currently. I've always done the needle turn and just used about 30 zillion straight pins and stabbed the dickens out of myself - I bought freezer paper and then decided I didn't want to go that route. So thank you thank you for reminding me of the freezer paper!!

duh - the fabric softener sheets lol

Okie,
I love needle turn applique! I like to have a project going to work on while watching tv or waiting anywhere. It is a great take along project.
I use cardboard (cereal box, etc) & make templates for leaves & gentle curves. I cut my fabric with 1/4 inch or a little larger seam allowance, take a running stitch in the seam allowance, lay the template on the wrong side of the fabric & tighten the running stitch. I iron the pieces- still on the templates, then remove the templates just before stitching to the background. I usually just pin but if it's a to go project I use safety pins or baste it to the background, then use very small stitches to attach it to the background. I use thread the same color as the applique & have found prints are better than solids for hiding the stitches.
I used this technique on the quilt in my avatar.
I hope this is clear & doesn't just confuse you!
Jo

I'm going to try that dryer sheet technique right know. That might be just the way to go. I want to get started learning so I can do the Baltimore Blues patterns. I was going to start a Baltimore with machine emboridery but something that kind of took me back a little happened. I found some designs(Balitimore) I really liked on a lady's site. Her name was Vicki Key and her web site was "Embroidery by Design" I had looked at them for a month or so. I had to wait to purchase them because of life's little way of keeping you broke. Well I finally had the money, went to the site and all it said was "In loving memory of Vicki Key" I was shocked. There is a community of digitzens(I'm not a digitzer, don't want to be) online and one had Vicki as one of her links. I emailed her and she replied with this. She had chrone's disease and the medications compromised her immune system. When she came down with pnuemonia she was not strong enough to fight it. She will be truly missed by her friends in the embroidery community. I don't know if anyone will take up her work or continue to allow it to be purchased or not. It would be ashame to let her work die with her. She was 4 yrs younger than me and I'm a young sometimes old 58. I know I got a little off subject but I can' t help but think about the lady when I think about baltimore designs. Embroideryonline has a set I might purchase but I want to think about the hand applique now and get good enough to do the ones by Sindy. I can do both at the same time because the applique will be for when I'm waiting on my sister. I can't take along machine emboridery so will save that technique for home. This is turning into a book, I better get busy, times a ticking by.

I have read that Invisfill (a very fine polyester 100wt) and then 2 ply 50 wt cotton are threads to use for applique. I havae the video of applique from the Piece O'Cake Way. They are cotton thread users. Can anyone tell the difference or is this one of those persoanl preferences? On the video they were saying that polyester in time could actually cut the fabric and that you don't want a thread stronger than your fabric.

There are so many ways to do applique. I have to learn turn needle just to say I have learned it, but I like the starch method (watching it ) I haven't really worked with any method yet. I'm still in the planning stage.
CHOICES, CHOICES, WHAT IS A GRIL TO DO!!

I take appy along to hand stitch while I wait, I also do hand embriodery and hand piecing, all of these go places well Jolo

I should have said this in the above note. I use silk thread as it blends in and hides itself well if matched to what you are appliquing. Cotton works well but silk better for me. Jolo

Thanks! I wanted to learn how to do applique, and those websites are great!

I've done a lot of applique and my favorite method is needle-turn. You're talking about doing the Baltimore Blues, I'm doing the Baltimore Bliss. Since this will be your first one, you should think about using a washable marker/or fine mechanical pencil to set your pattern on the block. If you don't have a light box, then tape the pattern to a nice bright window and do it that way (the way I do it).

Can't figure out how to change the color, so I'm going to leave spaces between statements. Some of the statements are in the box!! LOL Computers!! Oh my!!


I don't use freezer paper for needle-turn. I pin the shape onto the block, make my knot, bury the knot and start sewing. One thing that I have learned is not to start at the outside ends, especially when doing leaves, it'll screw up your leaf points.

I hope this helps some? :? You can PM me if I've confused you?

Good Luck!!!!

I also use the Piece O' Cake needle turn applique method and love it. I was very resistant to hand applique, but wanted to challenge myself to learn something new. I took a class that taught the POC method and now I thoroughly enjoy it. I've carried my applique everywhere to work on when I had time to spare. I just recently finished a project and haven't started a new one. I feel like something is missing when I travel because I don't have my applique to work on.