Suz

Karen Kaye Buckley taught a class of quilters how she makes stems. You will need to raid someone’s stash of “zip ties” and collect several sizes about the width of the stem you desire. Cut the bulky end from the tie. Cut bias strips wide enough to wrap the tie plus approximately 1/2”. Stitch the strips together and trim seam close, press seam. Put your zipper foot on, wrap the fabric around the zip tie, and adjust the needle to crowd the tie. Using a shorter stitch, stitch the length of your stem. Trim the seam allowance to about 1/8”. With your iron ready, roll the seam of the back side of the tie and press. Press a section, slide the tie forward, press and repeat to the end. If you cannot pass thru where the bias has been stitched together, remove a few stitches. The thickness of the tie will not crush the stem. At this point you can lace yarns in the tubing if you wish to give some dimension. Now you can appliqué by hand or machine.

I hope this clear!

thepolyparrot

What a great idea! I'd have never thought of that. 😊👍

lindaschipper

I don't applique much...but this is an idea worth keeping!

mkc

Google Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Stems - she sells a kit of of varying width trimmed zip ties and has a video showing the process.

How to use Perfect Stems video

Jordan

That sounds like a wonderful way to make vines. Thank you so much for sharing the information

rvsfan

Extremely dumb question but what are zip ties and where do you get them?

mkc

Plastic ribbed strips with a square eyelet on one end. Used to bundle things together (like electrical wires). Often in the electrical supply aisle of a home improvement or hardware store. They come in different widths and lengths.

They are also called "cable ties".

Zip Ties

Anniedeb

Thank You!!!! I have these, and they are wrapped with a rubber binder, with no instructions, stuck in a bin of miscellaneous stuff. I got them with a bunch of quilting things my cousin gave me. I do a ton of applique so these make perfect sense!

juliasb

Fantastic Idea! Who would have thought that something so simple could make such a difference. Thanks for sharing this wonderful tidbit.