Tacking down large applique
 

I am down to the final week (I hope!) of finishing up my Sunbonnet nightmare quilt & keep debating about what to do with my Sunbonnet Sues/Sams to best secure them. They are 9.5" x 4.5" needle turn applique that so far all I have done is stitch around the outline for quilting. I picked beautiful 1930's repro fabrics that I really don't want to detract from with lots of quilting. I've been thinking about just "ditch" quilting the pieces along the internal edges & maybe add some tiny crosshatching in the boys' hats to make them look like woven straw in a matching Aurifil 50wt. Normally I'd use 50wt for everything, but that would require a dozen thread changes so I'd rather go with a thinner thread that doesn't have to match.

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I'd love to keep it all cotton & am thinking about Mettler 60/2 cotton in cream & grey for the outline stitching. Or else I would go with a YLI 100wt silk. Has anyone used either of those on a bed quilt? How did it launder? I really don't want them to show, but it would be worse if the threads snapped because they were too thin to handle a trip through the washer (my sister is great about washing on cold & using low heat to dry). I definitely am not willing to consider poly or rayon thread, but am otherwise open to suggestions.

Also, if anyone has thoughts about something other than ditch quilting the applique that would still let the fabrics really shine through, please share. :)

Thank you!!!

I just ditched with matching thread where ever I could to secure them down: the hem, sleeve, bonnet.

I am not a fan of Sue or Sam but I have to say this is one of the better designs I've seen them used in a quilt. I think your quilt is beautiful.

Thanks. MQ, I may have to do that, I just counted and it would mean 13 thread changes. Not super keen on that if I can avoid it. Thanks for the compliment, 1by1.

Still hoping someone on Board has experience with YLI silk or Mettler 60/2 so I know if I can just use those.

Your quilt is awesome. I love it.

I switched from silk to Bottom Line and have been very happy with it's washability, performance, and ability to sink invisibly into the fabric. But you have specified you don't want poly, which is what Bottom Line is. :(

By the way - the reason I switched is because I could get one of those donuts full of pre-wound bobbins in a plethora of colors, instead of purchasing several different spools of silk. It was a much more economical option.

Peggi, did the quilts with silk thread wash okay?

I much prefer Aurifill to Mettler because it makes much less lint in the machine. And the silk, while it does a nice job it has shine to it that I'm not crazy about. It is also expensive. Silk is known to be strong but not when wet. If you use it I would pick it up gently when you wash it.

i hope your sister doesn't wash and dry this beauty too much. Machines are hard on any quilt.

Love your quilt, good job

Thank you all for your responses -- especially jokir44. I have spent many hours studying properties of cotton but know almost nothing about silk. This quilt is for my 4yo niece, but I make 100% cotton baby quilts and understand how to make them durable and washable. I usually expect them to be washed in cold water/dried on low heat once a week. With quilting at 2" apart, that should hold up for 20+ years without issue; denser quilting lasts up to 50 years. But my concern with this quilt is that everywhere except over the applique, I never have quilting more than 1.125" apart and typically it's much closer than that so that will mean a lot of stress would be put on the applique fabric & stitching.

I am really just wanting to be done with this quilt. It's the first time I didn't follow a pattern & it's been super challenging. It's a combination of 5 different quilts that I pulled from/modified for different parts of it & has been a great learning experience but I'm growing more eager to just be done with it by the minute and was more than willing to buy 2 spools of silk thread so I didn't have to change colors 13x, but it sounds like that's what I'm going to be doing. Argh! So much for finishing the dreadful thing this month. I do think I'm going to at least spend the $30 for a pack of Bernina bobbins. Only having 5 & needing to keep unwinding & rewinding with a new color is getting old fast.

my only thoughts are "WOW, amazing"

I've loved using the Bottom Line silk also. Love your quilt and hope you'll show us your finished product (after quilted).