Using satin for applique?
 

Any thoughts on using Satin for applique. My friend sent me her wedding dress from almost 30 yrs ago to make a quilt for her granddaughter. I was going to use it for border fabric, then change total direction of the quilt. I am going to use the satin for flower applique. Any suggestions or comments. Thanks :)

It would depend on the type or method of applique you are considering.

I've seen lovely 3-D satin and silk flowers on quilts.

Most satin frays like CRAZY. Are you planning on a needle turned applique or raw edge? In either case, you will need to fuse the satin.

Yep, satin fray's, but you can either sew in a fuse and turn it or sew petals using front and back satin. I use the tricot fusible, they have white, black and beige.

use a stabilizer- a nice, lightweight fusible would be my choice- which will stabilize the satin (help with the slippery property when trying to sew), keep it from fraying and make it easier to work with. a good sharp needle in the smallest size possible with the thread you are using (I would use aurifil or silk thread) the satin will make wonderful flowers on the quilt. :)

My friend made a quilt for her GGD from her GD wedding dress. She used fusible interfacing on the back of the satin. She did some machine embroidery, applique and piecing. It turned out beautifully!! Good luck to you!

I think using the dryer sheet method is a great idea.

I would wash the satin first, then fuse it to a lightweight stabilizer if you are preparing pieces for machine applique. Not sure how much heat satin can take, so you would want to test the entire method on a small piece of the dress before going forward with all of the pieces.