Is Machine Appliqué hard?
 

I want to make a quilt for a friend and I found a very nice stained glass pattern of her breed of dog (Sheltie head). I want to machine appliqué it into a central panel and surround it by pastel pinks,greens with some black blocks (pattern yet to be decided).
I've only ever made one full quilt and a quilt top plus some blocks for a swap. I am more than a little intimidated by how complex it looks even before I cut out the pieces. I still have to choose my fabric colours as I don't want it to be flat but don't want it too patterned either or it might take away from the overall "eye view" of the dog I wish to put on the quilt..

So help and ideas for a newbie machine appliqué-ist...lol...


Cheers
Julie

machine applique is not 'hard' it is just a new technique- start with a good fusable such as steam a seam lite or heat & bond lite or wonderunder---- the lite part is VERY IMPORTANT! you want to make sure you choose a fusable that is made for sewing- some are not meant to be sewn down- and are very stiff- gum up needles and are next to impossible to stitch through-
there is also fusable bias tape made especially for stained glass applique- it comes in two widths- 1/8" & 1/4"

you trace your applique patterns onto the paper side of the fusable- rough cut the shapes- fuse to the wrong side of the fabrics- cut out on the lines- remove the paper & fuse into place on the background fabric- then use the fusable bias tape to apply the (leading) over the edges of your applique shapes- then stitch everything down- there are a few different ways to stitch down the bias tape- some people use a zigzag stitch the width of the tape- some straight stithc the edges- some people use their double needle and stitch both sides at once-
most of the patterns come with pretty good instructions- there are plenty of tutorials- and there are always (material recommendation lists with the patterns)
you may want to do some little thing- applique a daisy or something simple on a practice piece to get a feel for what you are doing- you will find it is quite forgiving- and enjoyable :)

You are great at explaining things. Always enjoy reading your posts.

Machine applique isn't hard, but it does take practice. I also would recommend you do some smaller project first to learn on before you tackle the larger dog quilt. Good luck!

I was so scared to try machine applique, but I love it now. Start with a big flower on a pillow or something like that. Experiment with your sewing machine on what stitch you want to use. I really like the blanket stitch, but I don't make the stitches very wide. Tonight, I just finished cutting out the designs of one of the two kits I bought yesterday at the quilt show. I can't wait to get the pieces ironed down so I can start stitching. Have fun!

Every comment here has already given you such great tips! Applique is fun, addictive and endless opportunities to explore. Have fun creating and looking forward to seeing photos.

Thank you everyone!! I have not done any machine applique but now feel I will give it a try!!!!

I agree with others ---- try it out with something small and play with it to get comfortable/confident. I've learned that it isn't difficult, just have to take it slow (or I do anyway!).

Go for it!! You can do it!!!