More Applique . . .

Last night, we left off with me having prepared all the pieces for the bunny applique. I don't think I mentioned it, but it probably took me about two hours to do that. One reason I like working with wool is because "prepping" the wool would have taken maybe half an hour because all I would have had to do is trace and cut the freezer paper pieces, iron them on the wool, cut around the shapes, and pull the paper off. Yep, I like it when that part goes quickly! Still, I don't always have wool to work with, or maybe wool isn't the right thing for the quilt I'm working on, and I suspect you may find the same to be true. And, of course, it's always nice to have other options!

From this point in the tutorial, though, the method will be the same whether you're using cotton or wool. I'm going to tell this part of the "story" primarily with photos and short explanations of what I'm doing at each step.

Here I've layered the backing (you can see it there in the right bottom corner, flipped up), the batting, and the background on top. Because this is a small piece, I've simply pinned everything together in the corners of the background piece using quilting or safety pins.

Next, I lay out all of the applique pieces, checking for positioning.

Since I need to work from the bottom up, after partly pinning the two main bottom pieces, I remove the top layers of applique and finish pinning, using straight pins, to secure everything in place for stitching.

Once that's done, using the free motion features on the sewing machine and thread to match the applique, I stitch along the edge of the applique. Where I know other pieces will cover the bottom applique pieces or where the applique meets the edge of the fabric, I don't sew--notice the neck and bottom of the head aren't sewn?

Again I roughly check positioning, and I can see the next pieces to be sewn are the cheeks, so those are pinned and the upper layers are removed. Of course, I need to change my thread to pink. (I don't sew the parts of the cheeks that go under the cheek/chin area.) The next layer to be sewn is the cheek/chin part--same thing: just pin and sew.

Then the mouth.

And the teeth. Don't forget to continue the sewing line up to create two front teeth. And since I have white thread in my machine, I might as well pin and sew the eyebrows at this point too.

Then the part above the mouth and finally the nose is sewn. With this method, while I stitch each applique piece in place, I also quilt the project.

Here I've added the inner borders. They're sewn just as you would any regular seam and then pressed back.

Same thing with the outer borders.

The final step for this part is to add some quilting lines for expression and texture in the ears, the neck under the chin, and near the mouth and nose. Then the edges of the quilt are trimmed.

All that remains to be done now is to add the binding, embroidery, and any other embellishments (like the yo-yo flowers and leaves in Bette Bunny).

These steps I've outlined tonight took about two hours or a little less, which I think isn't too bad for a little applique project. If any of this isn't clear or if you have any questions I didn't touch on, please leave me a comment so I can provide whatever follow-up explanations may help. Thanks for visiting!

A Bit of Applique

In yesterday's post, I promised to do a little tutorial on one of the applique methods I occasionally use. It's not quite as nice looking as hand applique but it's much quicker and looks very much the same unless you look close. This is the method I recommend in the Bette Bunny pattern for anyone who wants to use cotton instead of wool because the pieces can be stitched and the quilting done at the same time--just like my directions for using wool. This method could also be used for the applique in the Spring! quilt pattern or any other simple applique design. Are you ready to get started?

The first step is to trace the different applique pieces onto freezer paper. If you haven't used freezer paper before, it's very simple and quite a nice tool. Just trace the pattern onto the dull side of the paper and cut out the pieces.

Next, iron any creases out of the fabric you wish to use. You'll need two layers of fabric for this applique method. The under layer can be muslin, a non-fusible, lightweight interfacing, or a second layer of the same fabric you're using for the top layer. The third option is the one I prefer, because unless you're very careful, whatever you use for the bottom layer may show around the edges; if you use the same fabric for bottom and top, it's less noticeable.

With the two layers of fabric "right" sides together, iron the cut-out freezer paper pattern onto the fabric that will be the under layer.

Next, stitch around the freezer paper pattern. If an edge of your applique piece will be placed under another applique piece, leave that portion unstitched. If, however, all edges of the applique piece will be visible, continue stitching all the way around the freezer paper pattern.

Trim around the applique shape, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance or a little less. With your scissors, snip the seam allowance along any curves or points, cutting to within about two threads of the stitching line. Remove the freezer paper.

If you've left an opening, turn the layers right side out through the opening. If, however, the applique piece is stitched all around, cut a slit in the center of the under layer (being careful not to cut the upper layer!) and turn the fabrics right side out through the slit.

At this point, poke and manipulate the fabric along the seam line to get a smooth seam. My favorite "tool" for this is the blunt tip of a bamboo skewer and sometimes the tip of my seam ripper to just tease out any stubborn seams. Press the seams with an iron as you go.

Repeat the process with all the applique shapes. Once the shapes are made and you've tried them out for positioning (as in the photo below), if you are concerned about having too much bulk in the various layers, you could trim away some of the under layers, but make sure to leave at least 1/4" or more all the way around. Personally, I kind of like the slightly raised, somewhat dimensional look, but it's possible your sewing machine, thread, or needle might not like all those layers.

Once all the pieces are prepared and you've checked them for fit and positioning, it's time to sew.

Except it's too late to get started on that tonight--time for bed! I'll show you the next steps tomorrow. By the way, those eyebrows are tough to make! I left a little bit of the top seam unstitched to turn them right side out and then tucked the seam in and pressed. If you're making this pattern or something else similar, you might consider a different method of applique for such small pieces or, in this case, you could substitute embroidered eyebrows for the applique.

See you tomorrow!