Will pinking work for appliqué?
 

Still fairly new to the world of appliqué. I'm attaching a smaller yellow heart shape onto a slightly larger multi color black heart shape in one corner of thus baby quilt . I'm doing just one because the spot was a mistake of thread sewn so tight I just couldn't undo it. Hence the "patch" if an appliqué.

My question is, if I pink the edges of both shapes and then top stitch near the edges, keeping the Pinked edges as is for a decorative look, will it hold up over time? Or should I turn all the edges under and sew down?

For a baby quilt that will be used versus being hung on a wall, I would turn the edge. Washing will eventually fray even a pinked edge imho.

Did you use fusible, either interfacing or double sided on the applique pieces before you cut? If so, you should be ok because the fibers will be stabilized. If not, I would use a wider stitch (zig zag or decorative) than just a top stitch near the edge as just a small amount of raveling can cause the applique to pull off. You can also add decorative stitching in the applique to secure it

Okay, I had my doubts about the pinked edges ( certainly easier .. I'm so ready to be done with this quilt and I would be except for that woopsie daisy). I haven't fused anything yet but I will use Heat n Bond 2 on both hearts , then do a dec stitch along the edges.

The little girl I'm making this for is turning one year old on Thursday. She has been fighting brain cancer since summer. I'm very good friends with her mom and grandmom. So yes, this quilt will be used and washed a lot. Poor thing has been in the Hospital half of her life. I want to give this quilt today or tomorrow because she is home until Thursday (if she stays well enough for 3 days).

How about making a Yo-yo instead???

I was thinking the same because I did it on a repair my sister asked me to fix.

For future reference, the most secure option would be to fuse the little heart to the big heart (I like WonderUnder, but H&B would also work) and then satin stitch the little heart, then fuse the unit to the background & satin stitch around the unit. Pinking the edges will not help & might, ironically, actually cause slightly more fraying.

If your machine does a blanket stitch, you could also do that & it would be very secure. I did blanket stitching (by hand because I have an old machine) on my niece's quilt & it has held up fine through dozens and dozens of washings. The fraying happens when you have a wide stitch. If you use fusible & tiny stitches (I aim for a scant 1/8" wide & 1/8" long on my blanket stitching), the raw edge will barely fray at all.

It will hold and if it frays at all it will only go to the stitching lines. You could also do the hearts with fleece or similar fabric that won't fray but and add textural difference to the other fabric