I made this little project about a month ago. I picked up a Halloween appliqué pattern, but I have never done appliqué before. I searched all over the web for some tutorials on different methods of appliqué. There are basically two types, needle turn or raw edge. Needle turn means that you leave a seam allowance on the pattern when you cut it, and you turn that edge of the fabric under before stitching. Raw edge appliqué means that the pattern is cut right to the edge. There are numerous ways to attach raw edge, usually fusible is used to keep the edges down, and then you can satin or buttonhole stitch the edge to the raw part does not show. If you don’t mind the raw edges, you can also just stitch with a regular stitch just slightly inside the pattern.
As you can see there are many options when it comes to appliqué, so it took me a while to find one that looked like something I wanted to try. For my first foray into appliqué, I settled on the back basting method of needle turn. You can find the instructions I used here:
It actually worked really well for even the smallest pieces.
Though I have to say I probably won’t do the whole quilt this way. I kind of like the idea of raw edge, and actually leaving the edges raw so they get a little fuzzy when I wash it, but I will have to try that method in another small project to see.
I also tried my hand at free motion quilting on this little project. I have a new machine that lets me do it, and though I am horrible at it, I was surprised that it actually didn’t look half bad when I was done (except that I caught the edge of the appliqué, which I didn’t mean to do!)
Now this super-mini quilt sits on my shelf along with my other permananently displayed Halloween items.
Happy Quilting!
Rachel
