Working with Wool
 

I have never worked with wool and am looking for some suggestions on what works best. My quilt guild is starting a new block of the month applique wall hanging and I have gathered the wool I need but am wondering what people find works best - iron on, pinning the pieces, glue??? Any suggestions or help is much appreciated. Thanks!

Good for you for trying something new.

Wool can be quite stretchy, so you are smart to be thinking ahead, before you get into it.
I am sure you are not the only one in your Guild that will be new to working with wool.

I would hope that if a Guild is starting this as a new project, that they will be taking the newbies into consideration and will be providing the help needed, with each BOM, in order to complete it.

Otherwise, I would fear there will be a lot of frustrations ..... and perhaps abandonment.

On youtube, I have watched the three tutorials given by Anna Bates of the Quilt Roadies or as her website is known, Woolie Mammoth. If you just put in "Anna Bates Wool Tutorial", you should be able to find it. She uses two kinds of fusibles because she travels a lot and takes her wool stitching with her on the road. Don't know if you will want to do it her way but it was interesting to see her technique.

I do a lot of wool appliqué. I pin my pieces in place and just hold them when stitching. I do know people who use fusible web but I've never had luck with that and find it difficult to hand stitch through - same problem with glue so I just stick with pins & holding my pieces.

I arrange all the pieces and take a picture with my phone. Then I pin or glue stick the pieces as I deal with them. The photo helps me put them where they need to go.

I watched her tutorials and found them very helpful - thanks for telling me about her

I staple my prices with a household stapler. Remove by lifting one leg from the back side,once piece is appliquéd, turn to the front and carefully unhook last leg. Leaves no visible holes, is secure and no pins to get thread caught in while sewing. If I can not reach to staple, I simply baste in place with very large stickers and regular sewing thread. And remove baste thread once complete. The only time I use fusible is if I have piece that just doesn't want to felt well and has lose edges. Then and only then will I use fusible. Some people use it all the time but I just plain don't like to sew through it. You may also want to use an interfacing on the back of your base fabric if using cotton to give the background more stability. But if your blocks are not big, it will not be necessary. Relax, have fun and enjoy learning something new. I hate traditional appliqué work but love wool. Just be careful. It can be a slippery slope and you will end up with both a cotton stash and a wool one too��

I use soft fuse on my wool applique. It has no bulk and no goo on needle when you applique. The woman who told me about it said to use steam so I do. Love this stuff. Wool applique is addictive. In 2 1/2 years I have finished 4 quilts, a table runner and at least a dozen decorative pillows. Pinterest has lots of fun projects to look at.

I just ordered some Soft Fuse online so will wait to get it before starting my project - thanks!

Thanks - I can already see my "stash" of wool growing - lol