Machine Appliqué Advice?
 

I want to appliqué some baby quilts, but I'm at a brick wall when it comes to an easy method that is still strong enough for many washes and loving use. We all know how baby quilts go:) What really slows me down and almost turns me off appliqué is the whole tedious ironing the seam allowance onto the freezer paper. (I use the freezer paper method.) I would like to try some fusible webbing, but am worried about the edges fraying. My MIL uses wonder under, but I'm still worried about frayed edges. I hope I didn't confuse everyone! What is your favorite method for machine appliqué? Thank you!

I am doing a baby quilt with lots of circles right now (caterpillar quilt) and I enlarged the circles, sewed them to very lightweight interfacing, trimmed, slit the interfacing and turned them right side out. Voila!! no raw edges! Otherwise for baby quilts, I use Heat and Bond Ultra and live with the possibility of a gummed up needle.

I use wonder under, too. My applique quilts have not frayed even after frequent washings. After I trace the applique on wonder under, I cut out the inside before I press it onto fabric. This way the centers are soft. I use buttonhole stitch on my machine for the applique stitch. I have seen some that used a tiny zig zag and that looks good, too.

You can also do a satin stitch to completely encase the raw edge.

I did this on my first quilt, except that I used cotton voile from Beverly's. I didn't have a book or any quilting friends at the time. On heart appliques (maybe 3.5" wide), I cut the voile 1/4" away from the edge (after turnng inside out) and then top-stitched around the edge of the applique with a 40-weight thread. It was very sturdy and has survived a lot of washing.

just another idea,
charlotte

You can do the needle turn to keep it from fraying or you can sew the fusible right sides together with the fabric, & sew around the edges. Then make a little slit in the fusible & turn right side out.. The fusible is on the bottom ready to fuse to the fabric & there are no raw edges. Then you can just applique around it. Make sure the bumpy side is on the right side of the fabric before you sew all the way around it. Otherwise the fusible will be on the wrong side. If you have any questions just PM me & I would be happy to help if I can.

I secure the edges with blanket stitch or zig-zag regardless of which fusible interfacing I use.

Thanks for all your help! I had never even thought of possibly sewing either interfacing or fusible web onto the wrong side of the appliqué and then turning it right side out! I can't wait to try it:) I like how it sounds.

Sue Nickels showed us a quilt that she used a light fusible on the edges (cut away the fusible on the inside before ironing down on the fabric) and then did a blanket stitch all around the edges. The quilt was washed numerous times and there was no noticeable fraying. She uses Soft Fuse and it is wonderful.

Remember that she and her sister have won more than 4 national awards using this technique.

Good to know...I'll have to check her out.