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Tackling Applique?
Howdy y'all :c)
Well.....the time has come. I've done patchwork quiliting ever since I first started about 22 months ago, but have yet to tackle applique. I don't want to start out with anything that's gonna take me months to finish because I know I have a very low patience threshold. LOL! So I'm looking for suggestions. What would be something good for me to start on to learn so I can actually see my accomplishments fairly soon? I want something easy, yet with a bit of a challenge. Any suggestions? Donna |
maybe some precut shapes? you can get them on ebay and i think one off the members on here was selling them as well at one point
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It really depends on your sewing experience & what your long term goals for applique would be. If you try precut shapes as suggested, they don't have the seam allowance to turn under. That's fine for machine applique but your post mentions a challenge.
When I'm teaching someone applique, I like to start with needle turn or at least back basting and then I show freezer paper method. There are simple flower patterns that you can try to get the hang of layering fabrics at the same time. I'm self taught, so there are plenty of resources available for free online to help you through the process. If you're interested, I have some resources on my blog (address below). There's a tab under the title for applique tutorials. A couple videos explain the various methods for tackling basket handles or vines (combined with piecing to make it go quickly) then there are a few basic photos to get you going in the various methods. If you have experience in hand sewing, please start with needle turn. It's really not as difficult as people say it is and you can take it with you anywhere so it goes very quickly. |
I started with the 2-fabric appliques from Pacific Rim Quilt Company - http://prqc.com/2faq.htm. These little quilts will let you practice needle turn without worrying about cutting out lots of little pieces and figuring out where to put them. Once you master this technique, you can go on to something more complex.
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It sounds like you are going to try needle turn appliqué? If that is the case, go for simple larger shapes with more rounded shapes. Tight inside curves and pointed leaf shapes are more difficult for beginners.
If you are talking about machine appliqué, it is fairly simple with the right equipment. I like Wonderunder for a fusible and buttonhole stitch for machine sewing it down. Good luck with whatever method you are using. There are a lot of good tutorials for both methods on the web. |
If you are interested in needle turn applique I highly recommend Pacific Rim Quilting Company's 2-3 hour video ( it can be rented from the library) Dunster is right about Hawiian applique being very easy to learn with and if you use the video ( it is like taking a class on applique) you can not go wrong. hawaiian appl. is in a class by itself. I did watch Retrogirl02's videos which were very good.
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My suggestion would be to take a class so you can learn multiple techniques which is the benefit of taking a class in machine and needle turn.
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Make some mug rugs with small app. designs so you can see your success and then work on to larger items.
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Are you doing hand applique or machine raw edge ? for machine raw edge try Sun Bonnet Sue
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I bought a couple Garden Patch cat kits to learn applique. Good luck!
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