Fussy Cut Applique question
 

I am in process of making a pretty basic baby quilt, and to jazz it up a bit I cut out and fused some simple animals for applique. I know that some of lines are pretty intense for machine stitching, so hand sewing it is. Is there a preferred stitch to secure raw edge applique? Is the blanket stitch the only method? The animals are small, most no bigger than 2x3 inches. I am quite new to the applique process, so any assistance is appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

For a baby quilt I'd go with a small zig zag. You don't have to go all the way down to a satin stitch.

if you are hand stitching then a ladder stitch would be nice, but it would be much quicker on the machine with a zigzag or blanket stitch, or even any of your decorative stitches that have one straight edge.

It depends on the look you are going for. If they are furry animals, I like to just do a small straight stitch line about 1/8 to 1/16 inside the applique. This lets the outer edge fray adding to the furry effect. If it is an applique I want to stay really crisp, I do a satin stitch. The only other stitch I've done is the buttonhole with a thicker thread and I like it too. Try out some samples and see what you like best.

ive used blanket stitch and cross stitch

Blanket stitches are a very nice and simple edge treatment for hand or machine sewing.
IMHO the smaller the applique piece, the smaller the stitches. This goes for the space in between the stitches as well as the little stitch going into the applique.
On a practice piece, try a variety of sizes and colors of thread too. The color of thread chosen can really change the look of the whole applique :) :) :)

I agree if you want the hand sewn look use the blanket stitch--maybe in a contrasting color so it makes the animal stand out.

if you are going to hand stitch raw edge applique, i would suggest after you do the applique then you go around the edges with something like "Fray-Chek" or something to better secure the edges.