I've used papertowels around the edges where the fusing can ooze out. Never had a problem with it. But I did get a teflon sheet from Joanns for around $6 or $7 a couple weeks ago.

Okay, even cheaper than parchment paper is freezer paper. It works great and you can get it at Target!

In the hancocks store they sell the teflon fabric by the yard, I re-coverd my ironing board with it, and had some left over,(I used fleece for the padding, bought scraps) I surged the edges, and use it for a pressing cloth, teflon side down so it doesn't stick..... You can buy it by the yard, Im thinking it took me 2 1/2 yard for the bigger ironing board. With the left overs make great pressing cloths of diffrent sizes. I do use the towel method also, when theres a nap on the front side. I even attached the teflon to a kitchen towel for added support--with out sticking...
tall2

is this for fusible??? at a pinch one time at class I just used a white sheet of copy paper....just dont hold it on for long

A clean white rag works wonders

why not put that on your xmas list. That way you won't have to buy one.

If applique is done using fusibles use parchment. If you are doing them by hand stitching, press upside down on a terrycolth towel that has never been bleached.

I do the upside down thing with a towel. Works for me

I use any odd piece of cotton that I have.

try the paper from paper-backed fusible web after the fusible has been removed.

Another strong vote for the parchment paper technique, and I use it over and under. Prevents 'accidents' to the ironing board.
And sewmom, great idea to use the paper from the fusible web. Talk about using it up!

Parchment paper.............use it for baking too

It's not necessary-it just makes it easier to get all your shapes placed correctly and have them stay. You put them all together on the teflon or whatever and then you can easily transfer the entire shape or shapes to your project and get it centered or positioned exactly how you want it. I use steam a seam lite which is like a sticker until it's ironed so I don't usually use the teflon sheet.

If you mean a pressing cloth on top, I think some use it to prevent overheating of the fusible piece.

I use the freezer paper on the ironing board to protect the cover from the fusible. Just iron it right into the ironing board cover.

Use one of your hubbies handkerchiefs. It is light enough to work but not too big. Jan

Sherry - where did you find that little sleeping bear? - that is absolutely adorable! - What should I use in search to find something that offers the motion type of things like that? Thank you.
Mary

I didn't want to spend the $$ either for the teflon aplique sheet so I found 2 huge teflon cookie sheets that I had bought about 15 years ago and never used.
They are teflon and just a black flimsy type sheet and it works great.
Karen

A piece of solid muslin, a dish towel, a man's handkerchief, the back of a worn out pillow case, you name it, you can use it. Wet it or spray it with water and you have a pressing cloth or use it dry but be careful not to let the iron set on it too long. Cheap muslin is thin enough and cheap.

Carol J.

I recently bought an oven liner (Betty Crocker) from Bed, Bath and Beyond to use instead of a super slider for FM quilting. When I got it home, I compared it to my Fons and Porter teflon pressing cloth - same thing! It was $9.99 and with a 20% off coupon it was only around $8.00 + tax. I might go get another one to use for an extra applique cloth.

Try an old pillowcase, or a washcloth, hand towel, or a bath towel, depending the size of your appliqué. Also the upside down on a towel is a good method. Good luck! Patty

I buy organdy cloth by the yard and make my own. Works great.

I have a piece of cotton poplin that I have used for years. Works great.

hope you get this. i am new. dixdizzy. you can buy any silicone mat that is thin to put between iron and fabric and the thickness doesn't even matter if you need it under fabric. I've bought two silicone mats for twelve dollars in a grocery. good luck. its the same as Grandma Sue said.

You could buy one of those wonderful oven liners that are made of silicone MUCH cheaper.

Mary, if you google animated graphics you will find a ton of sites to see these types of graphics. You will need a code to use them on this forum and you can get that by going to www.tinypic.com, upload your graphic you downloaded onto your computer then get the code. Paste the code in here and you got it. Hope this helps

A teflon pressing cloth is worth every penny. I've had mine for a few years.

I was taught to always press applique this way and never have a problem. I always have a towel nearby.

Parchment paper sounds like a great idea. I have a teflon sheet, but it seems to almost melt when I use it. No, not really melt, but it does get awfully soft. Think I'll use parchment paper the next time. :P

I use my old linen tea towels since I no longer use them in the kitchen.

Can you make the instructions, to do this, a little clearer for us dufuses?

I use parchment paper. Yes, the kind for lining a baking pan.

Evelyn

I think we are talking about two very different items here. The teflon sheet or parchemnt paper is used on top of the ironing board, but under the fusible to keep the fusible from sticking to and ruining the ironing board cover. The pressing cloth is a thin cloth used on top of the fusible when you are ironing it to the block you are working on. When the directions say to use steam to affix the fusible to the block, I use a damp flour sack dish towel. It adds extra steam to adhear the fusible. I have a teflon sheet and I have also used parchment paper and the dollar story oven liner. All work equally well in my opinion.

I am happy to help but not sure it should intrude on this subject listed. So here goes. I wanted to use graphics like my fish. At first I did not know where or what to look for but through seaching and looking around I found the information I needed. Thanks to a couple of wonderful QB members they helped me too. You can do a search on Google for animated graphics. It will show you all the different sites.
Once you find a graphic you like some have a download button that will let you save it to a file on your computer but if not then right click on the graphic you like and then on save as. Name the graphic what you want to save it as and direct it to go into the new file you made for it. Once it is saved you then go to a site like www.tinypic.com and upload the graphic you saved. Once it uploads it will come up with some codes to be used for different purposes. If anyone needs more help or a list of my favorite sites PM me and I will do what I can to help.

The main reason I use parchment paper is because a lot of my applique is big...OK try huge as in bed size. The teflon sheets also eventually become wrinkled and nasty when used as much as I use them.

i recently made a 'chicken little quilt' which required a lot of heat n bond. i used a large scrap of muslin across the ironing board to help keep the cover clean and used that as the design work surface. i used a sheet of copy paper on top as a pressing cloth and it worked great. just a note..i dug out an old travel iron (small) and was amazed. i will definitely stick to this procedure in future applique applications. just thought i'd share that. the advantage to using copy paper or parchment (a little more expensive) instead of a cloth is that it does not stick to or grab the fabric you are working on.

I use a large men's handkerchief. It's old, it's soft, and he hasn't missed it.

I use a dampened cotton gauze diaper for all my ironing needs and it works wonderful - have never had a problem.

I use a thick towel and iron on the backside. This will lift the applique. Ironing from the front will flatten the applique. This is what I do.

I bought one of those Teflon sheets you put on your cookie pan to keep the cookies from sticking. You can buy cheap ones at the Christmas Tree shop and maybe Walmart...

I also use the white cotton dish towels. They are relatively inexpensive and I keep two in my sewing drawer just for pressing. They are also great because you can see through them enough to know what you are pressing. Good luck!