I am going to attempt to do my first baltimore album and have decided to do the applique by hand. I have only been quilting for about three years and have mainly focused on fusible applique, but that usually gets too stiff. Does anyone have any suggestions of which technique will get me more accurate results? fusible web, wax paper or other type of template, using no templates, but drawing the design on the back, baste the piece and then needle turn. . . .

I vote for wax paper.

I am just finishing the 12th BOM with starch method applique and I LOVE it. It's a total pain in the neck to prepare the pieces, but the results are so precise and so beautiful, it's worth all the work. :)

I'm working on another one where I just left roughly 1/4" extra seam allowances on all the pieces and I glued the pieces in place with Elmer's Washable School Glue or Roxanne's Glue Baste-It. I turn the edges under as I go with a toothpick I keep stuck in my mouth while I'm sewing. That's fun and relaxing, but the results are not nearly so precise.

I have gotten my third block kit for Pearl Pereira's Baltimore Christmas BOM and I think I'm going to do the starch method. I really love the perfect edges and uniformity for a block that's supposed to be symmetrical. :)

There are lots of different tutorials on the web for doing the starch method of fabric preparation. I saturate my fabric with starch and iron it dry to shrink it and set colors.

I use Templar Heat Resistant template material for creating the templates, (instead of freezer paper) a 50/50 mix of Sta-Flo and water in a dropper bottle for treating the seam allowance with starch and a Clover mini iron for turning the edges under. I take the template out and steam the heck out of the piece from the front and let it cool before I touch it.

Once all the pieces are prepared, I shrink the background fabric and serge blocks at least 1½"-2" larger than the finished blocks will be, tape the background over the pattern on the lightbox and start laying down the pieces closest to the background. I glue them on with one of those starch-based glues and steam them with the iron to set them and dry the glue.

Keep the glue away from the outside edges of where you will be sewing, because hand-stitching through hard-glued fabric is NOT fun. ;)

A good soak in warm soapy water and a scrub between your thumbs will take out all the glue and starch and leave your fabric soft and beautiful. :)

I have tried every applique technique and went back to the original way of needle turn. I find it more portable because all I need is my applique piece and needle and thread. You should try the different techniques and that way you will find exactly the one you like :D

Other than needle turn as you go, I like to use freezer paper template on the wrong side of the fabric and then use Elmers glue to baste down the edges. You cN also use freezer paper on the top and needle turn as you go. Good luck. Baq is a lot of work but soooo beautiful.

I too have tried different types of applique...and the best for me is the starch method...I agree...a pain to prepare but once the pieces are ready, it is beautifel and looks perfect..

Thud! Just reading this exhausted me. You all have far more patience than I do. Think I'll go sew some big blocks together(you know I'm kidding-right?).

I use school glue and a paint brush when I am at home and for portability I use the glue sticks to hold it long enough to stitch.

fusable products usually make it pretty hard to hand applique- fusable is usually saved for machine applique-
to hand applique needle turn is the most common-
freezer paper is used for templates often (NOT WAX PAPER! which is a totally different product! wax paper is used to press leaves between---has wax on it! freezer paper is a white paper with a plastic side- the plastic is pressed to fabrics- it does not come off-leave any residue - is reusable- comes in a big blue box in the grocery store)
do a search for hand applique you will find tons of videos, tutorials
if you choose to use a fusable- find the lightest/softest one you can- they are hard to push a hand needle through-but it can be done

Has anyone used the two sided washable disappear tape. I put a strip of that down the middle to hold in place, stitch. Then when washed bye bye tape...

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I will take your suggestions and do an internet search and try a sample of each type before I begin. The baltimore album I am doing is the PE Designs Baltimore Christmas BOM that I got from Stitchin Heaven. It is so beautiful and maybe, just maybe I may have it done for next year!

That's the same one I got - isn't it gorgeous?

I think the only way I will be able to do it justice is the starch method. It might take 8 hours to prepare the block for sewing, but once it's prepared, you can take it anywhere and have it completely sewn in just a few hours to a day. :)

Yes it is and it reflects one of my favorite holidays. When I did a web search, I did not find a "starch method" is it usually called something else?

Here's one tutorial:
http://erinrussek.typepad.com/photos...ial/index.html

It's pretty close to identical to the way I do it, but before I do anything else, I saturate the fabric with Sta-Flo and water and either iron it dry or let it dry part-way and then steam press it completely dry.

Lots of starch in the fabric makes it easier to handle and to draw on where necessary, plus it keeps the fraying down and allows you to cut smaller seam allowances.

The saturation and drying and pressing does most of the shrinking for you, too.

I also use Fray-Check wherever I am going to have to clip the fabric up to the seam allowance. :)

I draw on the back then needleturn. It's easy to be accurate and I get great, smooth curves. I also do most of my hand-applique on the NYC subway to and from work and it is still accurate

Laurie

I'm new to applique as well, but needleturn applique is a lot easier to work with than it looks. I just press the extra seam allowance around the pieces, and hold it in place with a pin.

thank you for sending me this! I did not see this one when I looked.