Stabilizer for fleece applique?
 

I'm trying to work out a good way to applique some white fleece fabric in the shape of a sheep onto a woven cotton fabric. Originally had not considered how difficult it would be to cut and pin in place and am afraid heat would melt the fleece, so don't think paper piecing would work. I don't want to use anything that would cause the fleece applique to end up permanently stiff, so something that would wash out would be excellent. Since my plan is to do a blanket stitch around the sheep applique, I don't want to use a spray product that would go all the way to the edge of the fleece.

I'm a novice quilter although I know how to sew. Appreciate any suggestions!

Use some scraps and try appliqueing from the back.

Thanks, Scissor Queen! Good idea on using scraps to test :). What do you mean about appliqueing from the back? I've done a little appliqueing before but didn't do it from the back.

I would use Heat n Bond lite so you can fuse at a lower temp to the fleece and then position the fleece shape on the background and flip it over and fuse it from the cotton side. Trying to fuse thru a layer of fleece may not work very well.

There is a product called Wonder Tape that is 2 sided tape which washes away. It comes on a roll, about 1/4 inch wide. I get it at Joann's on the notion wall. I use it to put in zippers, close the hole when I pillowcase turn projects. I don't know what I did without it.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. I will try a few of them on some scraps and see which works best for me :).

This is basically the way it is done with an embroidery machine. After the trimming close to the straight stitching then finish off with a satin stitch. Im just finishing a baby quilt with my embroidery machine with a tear away on the back and a piece of wash away on top. Actually I would draw the sheep on top of the wash away and follow the lines. This stabilizer will keep the fleece from getting pounded down when stitching. Here is the pattern Im using. http://www.anniescatalog.com/detail....61&cat_id=1718