I thought this too...

I have quilts with applique on them & they have held up well. My mom made each grandchild a quilt with lots of applique where she zig zagged around the edges. Mom wanted the quilts used & seems the fabric wore out before the stitching did.

Really? I'd never heard anyone say that before. I've always heard how brittle thread gets. Thanks!

Shadow trapunto is more for art and wall quilts. It DEFINITELY won't hold up to regular use or washing, but applique should last as long as the quilt itself. Good luck.

Really? I'm glad you mentioned that. I could be wrong, but I could swear that Karen Combs uses shadow trapunto on bed quilts. I have one of her books. I'll have to check. If you're right, then it'll at least narrow down my options to applique or embroidery. Thanks.

ooops I meant Karen McTavish

All my applique so far has been needleturn, and it holds up just fine. As long as it's stitched down well (nice stitches, not big gaping ones, etc) there's nothing to pick at. It looks like it was pieced in with the rest, no worries! And when it's quilted, it'll have even more support.

In my experience it's more likely the fabric will wear out than the thread!

When my sister and I made wedding quilts in the past, we would ask the quilter to quilt the couple's names and their wedding date into the quilt somewhere. Part of the fun for them is to try to find their names in the quilting. No worries about if it will wear out that way!
I made my DD and DSIL's wedding quilt 10 years after their wedding--I forgot to ask the quilter to put their names in the quilting--and I know my DD was disappointed in that. Don't get me wrong--she was thrilled with the quilt, but was really looking forward to their names being quilted in...

OK I guess I'll stop worrying about appliques coming loose as long as I use the correct stitching.
Thanks all.