So apparently I have a tendency to cut off my opening “Hi Everybody” greeting when I upload my videos. All I can say is that I am still a total doofus at this.
Here is a little video I’ve made about how I glue baste my blocks together before I sew. I have been doing this for several years now and I just love it. It makes sitting down and sewing very relaxing because everything is right where it needs to be. Just for clarification. When I apply glue to my appliqué shape I always apply it to the seam allowance. I’m pretty sure you can see that in the video but I didn’t say anything about that so I’m covering my bases here. Another note is to NOT use too much glue, too much glue can make the sewing a little tricky.
Here is another in-expert video on how I do stems. Just a couple of notes, you can cut close to the stitching but don't cut through the stitching, watch out for steam and hot bias bars if you are using metal.
I took a picture of the back side of the stem so you can see how close I trim the seam allowance.
All I can say is….I would rather design and make quilts than learn how to edit videos. Or maybe I should say that my editing skills are not where my quilting skills are and may never be.
Anyway for those of you who are still with me here is Appliqué Lesson 3 in video. Here are my disclaimers:
I tried to finish the video before the battery died.
It died anyway, even though I was talking as fast as possible.
So I made a part 2 video to finish.I tried to splice them together but YouTube wouldn’t let me upload.
That weird blob you see in the lower right hand corner from time to time is actually my head…and I had no idea that it had so many gray hairs on it.
My kids fall over holding their sides with laughter whenever they hear me on the computer.
My husband says I sound like the quilting Mr. Rogers..I kinda liked that one.
Here is some information on my iron. I have a really nice Rowenta iron that I bought back in 1994. It had a really handy Teflon coating that made pressing an absolute delight. The problem is…I’ve used it so much that the Teflon is worn off and it doesn’t press so well anymore. I was hesitant about getting another one since these irons can be so expensive. Well, it turns out that I got a really nice new Black and Decker iron at Target for $11. I use this one only for appliqué so I never put water in it for fear of steaming my poor fingers (believe me…it hurts) and I always use it on MEDIUM.
About starch. I mix up my StayFlo starch in the following way. One quarter cup starch. One and a half cups water. This is something you might need to play with to get what works for you. My suggestion is to make a few simple leaves. If the leaf is so stiff you can’t sew through it you need to use more water. If you can’t get the leaf to hold its shape you need more starch.
About those points… if you look on the right side of the blog and click on the Applique Tutorial picture there are some nice pictures of pressing the points.
When I am doing a complicated appliqué block like Miss
Hannah I find it saves a bunch of time if I pre-assemble my flowers before I
baste them onto the background. This allows me to adjust the position of the
flower easily when I am doing the final basting (instead of moving 9 petals I
just move one flower).
So, my friends, here is a little tutorial on how I do this.
Trace your flower from the pattern onto a small sheet of paper
Here is my pattern
Make all the needed shapes
Put down you bottom-most (is that a word?) shape and dab a little glue
Add your next shape and a little more glue
Slowly work around your bottom layer
Apply a little glue for your next shape
Put your next shape on and make sure it is attached to all the pieces underneath
A little more glue
Apply the next shape
There you go, a complete flower
You can do this with most of the flowers in my patterns.
Oh my Gosh, I just noticed that this is my 100th
Blog post. I want to have a blog party but I have no idea how to do such a
thing, or if it even exists. Any ideas?
For all you quilters in search of Spechler-Vogel cotton
sateen I am revealing my sources. I get this fabric from my friend Elfriede.
She’s in Boulder, CO but has a website, www.elfriedesfinefabric.com, and
is very willing to take phone orders.
As you can see from my above picture petals are a huge part
of my appliqué quilts. It can be very tedious carefully ironing around all
these petals so I have a speedy way to make simple petals. I find this gives me
perfect petals every time and saves a bunch of time. Sometimes when I have a
bunch to do I just have myself a little petal party, you should see my studio
after THAT.
Here we go.
Begin with a simple petal template
Trace onto the backside of your fabric
Tracing done
Cut out your shape leaving a turn under allowance
Sew a nice simple running stitch in your turn under allowance
All stitched
Before you pull the thread pin down these ends with your finger
Here are some notes on what I’m using for Florabunda. Right
now we only really need background fabric. I always cut my blocks bigger to
allow for any shrinkage from the appliqué. It does happen. My blocks are all
cut 14” square. I’m very partial to sateen for backgrounds. It has a little
extra sheen and is lovely to stitch on. I especially like Spelcher Vogel sateen
which is a bit pricey ($12/yard) but worth the price. As a rough rule I always
plan on 1 yard to cut 4 background blocks. You can probably do with less than
that. I do this because I don’t usually know exactly what size my blocks are
going to be until after I buy the fabric. That being said, if you cut your
blocks 13” you could probably get all 12 blocks cut from 1 ½ yards. If you are
going to do the center medallion than plan on using another yard for that. I
hope that helps.
The Appliqué Stitch
To stitch the appliqué in place you will need to make a
small slipstitch along the folded edge of the appliqué shape. I like to start
my stitching by knotting my thread and slipping into the fold of the appliqué
shape. Place the needle into the background fabric next to where it came up
through the appliqué. Catch a small amount of background fabric as you guide
the needle into the edge of the appliqué. Try to only catch a few threads of
the appliqué when you bring your needle up through the shape as shown. Keep
your stitches close together so that the edge of the appliqué remains smooth. A
good stitch spacing to aim for is 10 to 12 stitches per inch. To finish I bring
the needle to the back of the block, take a small stitch into the background
fabric behind the appliqué and use this stitch to make a knot as shown. I then
tuck this thread behind the appliqué by threading my needle in between the
background fabric and the appliqué and pulling it up through the background
fabric a small distance from the knot. I cut the thread at the background
fabric to prevent any fabric tails.
THE STITCH
I start my stitching from the front by slipping the thread into the applique f
Place needle in background next to where it came up from the applique
Catch a small amount of background fabric as you guide
the needle into the edge of the appliqué
Try to only catch a few threads of
the appliqué when you bring your needle up through the shape as shown
Pull thread up and keep going
STOPPING
When you are done stitching around a shape bring thread up on the back and catch a few threads of the background fabric
Insert your needle through the loop this stitch makes to form a knot
Pull moderately tight
Thread needle between the background fabric and applique and come up slightly away from the knot
Cut the thread where it comes up. This will prevent the threads on the back from showing through.
Before I begin stitching I like to baste all my appliqué shapes into place. This eliminates the problem of your thread getting tangled up on pins. Some people like to sew their shapes down but I find it’s much easier to use Roxanne’s Glue Baste. To do this find the center of your background fabric. Pin the pattern onto the backside of your background fabric making sure the centers are aligned. You should be able to see the pattern through the fabric. If not, use a light box. Baste the appliqué pieces in place by placing a small amount of glue onto the background fabric and pressing the shapes in place. Be sure to pay attention to the layering of complicated shapes so that no raw edges are exposed.
Making Stuffed Circles
One of the ways I add dimension to my quilts is by adding stuffed circles. I use Karen Kay Buckley’s Perfect Circle templates. There are some other circle templates available as well; I just find these very durable. To add the stuffing I use a fusible web to trace my circles. I then fuse this web onto some lightweight batting and cut out the circles. These circles can then be fused onto the back side of your fabric circles. To finish these circles I stitch around the edge of the fabric as shown. Place the circle template on top of the batting and pull the stitching thread to pull the seam allowance in. Once the circle is formed use your stencil brush to apply some starch and press until the circle is dry (I just set the iron down right on top and wait a few seconds). After you remove the template you will have a nice stuffed circle for you appliqué. You can also omit the batting for a flatter circle appliqué shape.
As you might imagine, stems are a big part of my appliqué process. I have two favorite ways of making stems, one uses the Clover Bias Tape Maker (find it here) and the other uses Bias Press Bars (find it here). If I had to pick between the two I think I would pick the bias press bar method. It’s more labor intensive but the extra fabric gives your stems a slightly stuffed look and you can get very narrow stems.
Cutting Along the Bias
Both methods I use for stems require the use of bias strips. To cut along the bias place a quilting ruler on the fabric with the 45˚line along the selvedge or straight grain. Cut along the ruler’s edge to establish the bias. From here you can cut strips in desired widths using your quilting ruler.
Making Stems with Bias Tape Maker
To use the Clover Bias Tape Maker to make stems I cut a length of fabric ½” wide along the bias. This fabric can be threaded into the Bias Tape Maker and pressed using your iron as shown. Sometimes it is helpful to use a small amount of starch on the fabric to ease pressing.
Making Stems with Bias Press Bars
To make stems using Bias Press Bars cut a length of fabric at an appropriate width along the bias. I generally use 1/8” or 3/16” Bias Press Bars and I cut my strips ¾” to 1” wide. Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise with the wrong sides together. Sew along the length of the fabric keeping your stitching line at the desired stem width from the folded edge. Cut extra fabric from the seam very close to the stitching. Insert the Bias Press Bar and turn the stitching to one of the large flat sides. Press the remaining seam allowance to one side, making sure that the seam allowance doesn’t extend over the edge of the stem. Remove Bias Press Bar.
This week I am going to share my very simple appliqué process with you. These are the directions I am adding to my patterns so if anything is unclear or misspelled (Debbie) please let me know so I can refine.
First I have a few more supplies to add to my list from Friday.
1.Roxanne’s Glue Baste: Can’t live without it
2.Sharpie Fine Point Marker
3.ThimblePads: I’m a wimp when it comes to pain. You can find these at many quilt stores.
Making Appliqué Shapes
To make your appliqué shapes you must first make a template using heat resistant Mylar or Templar. I trace the pattern onto the Templar using a fine point Sharpie. After your shape is traced cut the template out. At this point it is a good idea to check the template for smoothness. I usually run my finger over the edge until I find any bumps. These bumps can be filed off with a finger nail file.
Once you have your templates made it is time to use them to make your fabric shapes. Use a washable fabric marker to trace around your template onto the wrong side of your appliqué fabric. Cut around this traced line giving yourself a ¼” turn under allowance. Clip any inside curves.
Now it’s time to press. I generally use my iron on its cotton setting with little or no steam. Place the template on the wrong side of the appliqué shape. Using your stencil brush apply the liquid starch to the turn under allowance of a small portion of your shape. Let it soak into the fabric. With you iron, gently press the turn under allowance over the template. Repeat this process until all the turn under allowances are pressed (parts of the appliqué shape that go under other shapes need not be pressed). Some shapes will need to have their points pressed further as shown.
I was playing with the downloads from yesterdays post and here's what I found out. If I just printed the pdf as is the quilt block is about an 8" square. If you want to enlarge it to a 9" square I would take it to some copy service place and say you want to enlarge to 1.125 times the original size. I think the block looks very do-able as is. You will just have a slightly smaller quilt.
Also,to demonstrate my stuffed circle technique I'm going to be adding some small circles in the corners so stay tuned.
