ckcowl, you posted while I was typing! You do lovely work!

Thank you CK. I love your samples and your input.

I have just started wool appliqué also and just love it! The hand work is going to be great to do when we are out traveling and camping. I get all of my wool from Goodwill also! I check to be sure the labels say 100% wool. I wish there was a way to check for the wool content in the store. Some garments don't have their labels anymore and I THINK they are probably wool by the feel and look of them, but I am not sure. I don't want to spend the money and then find out it is not all wool.

It was a Steam a seam that I used - but it could have been old. Just seemed like a lot of trouble to me and it came loose after handling it some. I was also using wool that was fairly thick as well.

I guess this is probably a stupid question, but why couldn't I use pieces of fleece to practice on. Doesn't it have similar properties to wool & it comes in lots of colors & is cheap enough. There was recently a presenter at our guild who used a wide variety of fabrics in her amazing projects most found at thrift sales.

Using fleece, you would not have to worry about raveling edges. I use a lot of Fray check when I do the wool applique. My only concern would be fleece is stretchy where wool is not. It might be a great way to master some skills, however. Maybe someone else has done it and will post.

I am going to try it with some scraps & if I am ok with the results, I am planning on doing a larger wall hanging.

I am going to try it with some scraps & if I am ok with the results, I am planning on doing a larger wall hanging.

I took a class and was hooked. It is so much easier than needle turn applique. Go to the resale shops to get skirts, jackets, etc, take them apart, wash in hot water and dry. The edges do not fray and you can find so many wonderful colors out there. I lucked out, went to the resale shop, any clothing you could put in a large bag for $10. it was amazing how many wool items I was able to get in the bag. It was like Christmas.

if you prep your wools correctly you will not have any raveling edges...one of the great things about working with wools is- no turn under edges to deal with, no raveling edges- you can use freezer paper to cut out your pieces- don't have to reverse patterns like with fusable applique.
it doesn't matter if i'm using recycled wools or new yardage- the process is the same (after the de-construction step of recycled wools) i wash in washer with HOT, HOT water and detergent- i check it before it gets to the rinse cycle & sometimes reset the wash cycle to wash a bit longer---then rinse in COLD water--then dry in a regular setting/hot dryer- take it out as soon as it's done to avoid over drying/wrinkling- if i do have wrinkles i dampen (or spray with water bottle/steam & iron- but i seldom need to do that. once the wools have been washed & dried you can cut them up and use them for appliques, for hooking rugs, for patchwork...sky is the limit- with no worries about fraying, raveling - you can dye it- sometimes i like to over dye a group of different textures/colors together to create a (family) of textures that all coordinate to use in a project.