Just a little question about needle turn applique.
 

I've seen many quilts with needle turn applique. My question is. Does batik fabric work well for this?

IMHO, yes and no. Batiks are densely woven, so they don't fray as easily as other fabrics. However I've found that they can sometimes be hard to turn under in an even manner because of the dense weave, and some batiks seem to have patches that are thicker than others, making them harder to use for needle turn.

Disclaimer: I am not a needle turn expert. Others who know more about this may have other opinions.

I have used all batiks in my affairs of the heart quilt and love the batiks !! I found them very easy to work with, this is my first needle turn applique project so I can't compare them to other fabrics.

I am using batiks for a two fabric needle turn appliqué and it is working well for me.

batiks are very nice for hand applique---the only thing is- make sure to use a 'new-sharp' needle- they are a tighter weave so a dull needle will be more difficult to push through the fabric- but they make stunning, beautiful appliques! worth the work...one of the really nice things about using batiks is --- they are not as (prone to) fraying- your edges stay much smoother- making crisp points & smooth curves.

I also found that batiks vary depending on the color saturation and even the hand is different between light colors and dark ones. I do a lot of needle turn applique though and I have not had a problem.

Because of residual wax sometimes left in batiks, I've found that using a thimble is a must when doing needle-turn applique or my fingers end up with holes in them.

worked well for me but yes choose your needles well and change them often

Batiks are lovely as they don't fray but some are too dense. Try out your choices and use the ones that needle nicely. You will be frustrated and want to quit your project if you keep going on fabric that is difficult to sew. I use Clover Black Gold Applique Needles they are lovely.
The flowers in this block are done with a very dense batik. It took me 6 weeks to complete because I am stubborn and wouldn't tear out the first one and try another fabric. It isn't as nicely done as the rest of the quilt so it didn't make the final cut anyway. The leaves and vine are also batik and were fine to needle.

It's good to hear that you ladies have had good luck with hand appliqueing batiks. I have stayed away from them for hand work after trying to hand quilt a small quilt with batiks. That was not pleasant. I'll give batiks a try in needleturn.