need advice on appliqueing and quilting
 

I'm making this wall hanging for my DGD to match her bedspread. It's all appliqued. I'm going to use raw edge applique except for the vines where I'm using bias tape. So I have all the appliques cut out. I plan to fuse them all to the quilt top before I sandwich the quilt. I don't want a lot of quilting on this piece--I want it to be as focused on the applique as possible, so I'm using batting that can handle the spaces. Will it be OK if, after I've fused the appliques, I sandwich and spray baste the quilt, and then sew down the applique with some type of applique machine stitch which will also serve as the quilting stitches? Or do I need to stitch the applique first and then sandwich the quilt and somehow then quilt it?
Thanks for any advice!
Carol

Okay, I'm actually giving advice without having done this, but...

I think it would be much easier to do your machine applique before you add the backing and batting. Since it's a wall hanging, you don't need to do much quilting, so you could just do the machine applique, then layer the piece, tack it down in a few places, and be done. You could use the birthing method if you don't want to bind it. Personally, I like the look that quilting gives, so I would probably quilt it - a lot.

I meant to add that it will make a lovely wall hanging, any way you choose to finish it.

I did this one by fusing the hands, sandwiching, and then stitching through all layers, which served some of the quilting
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...d-t123410.html

Carol,

Having made a Sunbonnet Sue with appliqued blocks, I think I would machine stitch (I used a zig-zag stitch) around the edges and used transparent nylon thread. Then, I think I would probably sandwich everything, quilt just on the edge of the white using white thread before you get into the background petals of your design. I might even quilt in the white surrounding the pink center. That should be sufficient to stabilize everything and keep your batting from shifting. Of course, I am sure there are those who are far more experienced. I am just a rank amateur!

Jeanette

I've made a few baby quilts where I fused then sandwiched and then raw edged the appliques. I used black thread to help them pop...and I LOVE the look on the back. I have appliqued before the sandwich and then just quilted around the appliques. But sometimes, to me, that leaves too big of a space with no quilting at all. And I don't really want to quilt over the applique in that instance.

So it depends -- partially on what I want the back to look like too.....and how much quilting on want on the actuall appliqued part.

No advice, just wanted to say I really like the wall hanging

Suzy

Very nice wallhanging.

you can do it any way you want to- it is perfectly ok for your applique stitches to be your quilting stitches- sometimes it is easier to sew the appliques first though- you might want to make a small appliqued square & try it before commiting to the real thing- to see how it goes.

I love applique. It is my favorite! And I love doing "echoing" around each applique. It makes the applique "pop". I don't know if I would sew the applique on before quilting, I think that's your decision, but to make it pop, echo around all the applique. I would echo around each piece of the large applique...you have three flowers inside each other. Why not applique a flower in the middle circle and then echo the circle and each of the flowers about 2-3 times around. I am doing something similar and that is how I'm making my applique "pop". You can echo around all the flowers on your border section as well. That is what I would do. Just an idea.

There is actually a book on the technique. Called Appliquilt.