Fun Cat: First Applique Project
 

I found this cat silhouette on Google, printed it of and traced onto applique paper. I have done two practice applique squares but no curves before this. This will be the center block of a wall hanging.

Any ideas on how to improve the stitching around the extreme corners?

Cute cat. About those curves, slow down when you get there, stitch, stop, pivot, stitch stop pivot, stitch, stop,pivot around the curve until you get to the next straight stretch - area where you can just go again. Using threads that match the applique will also make the stitches blend in,disappear, so those little (wobbly) areas will not show up so much, and smaller stitches will help too, that big of a bite is not necessary- You did a great job on your first.

Cute cat. Great job on your first curves.

very nice!!!!

I like it.

I think you did a great job for your first time.

When I was shown how to do this I was told to only turn your work with the needle down. This might help you too.

Great job!

Looks great. Maybe next time use coordinating thread to blend better.

Shorten your stitch width at a couple stitches before hitting the corner, slow down and keep needle down pivot and turn . Do a couple 2-3 stitches beyond turn and change st. width back. If this is your initial attempts-Nice job.

Patrick Lose (Moda Marbles) has been on F&P Love of Quilting show on PBS twice and he had some interesting ways of dealing with the stitching the curves with machine applique. Not sure if you can view them yet from F&P website because they might be the current season.

Very nice job for your first attempt....ckcowl pretty much said it all RE: best method. Don't forget to let us see the finished project !

I treat the long stretches like the highway, and the very curvy places like little roads near my house. I Have to slow down for those.

Just like reding a bike it gets better with practice, good for just starting

Did you do this on the sewing machine? I thought it was by hand. The person who advised me on appliqué had me use superior thread that comes on bobbins for appliqué by hand. Nice thin thread if you want the appliqué thread to be invisible. I like the style you did, looks like folk art. Very nice. Let us see more of your work.

On an outside curve, stop and pivot on the fabric. On an inside curve, stop and pivot on the appliqué. Best advice I ever received and so simple.

Here are some good videos on applique. Scroll down toward the bottom to see inside and outside curves and points.

http://www.shinyhappyworld.com/categ...uilting-videos

First off, I really like it & think the variation in stitches won't even be noticeable once it's in a quilt. I had the same problem when I was first learning to applique. Instead of starting my stitching right away, I marked a 1/8" stitch "line" (dots) to follow for 2-3 appliques until I had stitch length down. I took the tip of my triangle ruler to use as a guide; it's 1/4", so I used half the depth. You may need to shorten the stitches as you approach the point, but the stitch line still helps as a guideline. Start to shorten stitches and, if needed, narrow spacing about 2-3 stitches before point or tip of curve on either side -- you did it perfectly with cat's ear.

It looks like your stitches by the tail are and the base of the cat are considerably longer than the rest of your stitches, they are also slightly farther apart (which is actually what you want with a longer stitch -- just usually not combined with the shorter stitches in the same applique piece). Alternatively, you could try practicing on applique that doesn't have narrow parts & do a couple pieces with a 1/4" long stitch, then once you've mastered that work your way down to the 1/8" stitches. Here's a good video that shows some techniques. Use the same technique used on the leaf for narrow curves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNK6ebZMxkM

Just as a note: it's not so much the sharp curves that will cause your stitch length/spacing to vary so much, it is when an applique piece gets considerably narrower or wider. The eye is trying to use landmarks to figure out how deep to make the stitches & it gets confused when you start getting narrower or wider with your piece.

Good luck with the applique! I think it is the most fun part of making quilts & hope you come to enjoy it as much as I do! :)

I think you did a great job one your first attempt at machine applique. You do need to match the thread to the farbric you are appliqueing and shorten both the width and length of your stitches to have better control and to make them disappear somewhat into the block. I had to test out my stitch length and width at first to see what was functional and pleasing to the eye. Then when you find the magic numbers you like, write them down and keep them where you can refer back to them when you are going to do this again. I keep a little binder of notes near my machine with lots of tried and true information, because I am an older lady and I can't remember everything! LOL ...

Here is one tip, you want the bite into the fabric to be a straight line into the fabric from the outside edge. So like some gals said, slow down and do one at a time if you need to on those sharp edges and you can slightly adjust where the needle is biting the fabric manually by moving the fabric so it will hit into the tip of the last stitch, doing this all the way around the curve will give it a clean finish. Also, you don't have to be stuck with someone else's design if it isn't working out well, change it by cutting it into a better curve. No one will die and probably even know. It isn't rocket science, right?

* Needle down on backing fabric only to pivot, needle down in the appliqué and you will mess up your stitches.

If that's your first applique, I'd say you have found your 'calling'! Great job!! I too do what ckcowl suggests, great tips!

I made a great funky cat quilt. go slowly and turn often. also if you use matching thread, if you do a tiny goof, it won't show so much. have fun.

I love your cat and I have a suggestion on how you might improve the overall appearance of future cats. The blanket stitch you used is the perfect stitch for this purpose. I suggest, though, you increase the length of you stitch a little and shorten(decrease) the width. This will result in a less crowded-looking piece and put the "eye emphasis" on your cute cat. Nice work!

search funky cat quilt or funky cat and dog quilt and you'll see my 2 quilts. one for me and one for donation.

You did a great first job! Slow down at all curves and turns...a little bit narrower stitch would be better, but that is your choice. CKCOWL had the best suggestions...and she knows her stuff.

It also helps if you use a stabilizer on the back--preferably one that can be ripped off when you are done. If you change to black thread to match your fabric, a lot of mistakes will not show.

Nancy Ziemann has great step by step video instruction on appliqué on here website. She covers it all from choosing stabilizer & thread to stitch type, width & length, and spends time on inner and outer curves & inner and outer points. Lots of great helps.