Applique class... pumpkin on the haunted path

Practice hearts for HAND appliqué
Do a little practice with these hearts and get the hang of hand appliqué

Supplies for practice hearts:
You will need two different 6 inch squares of cotton fabric for each heart section. (four sections make up each heart block below.
A nice thin long needle. Appliqué needles are the best but for some practice you can just use a nice thin needle. A thick large needle does not do the job!
Thread to match your fabrics. I use a poly/cotton thread but later you may want to invest on some silk thread or some all cotton thread.
Small "sharp to the point" scissors.

Iron
Freezer paper
Spray starch or liquid starch. If you don't have any of those, you can use the baking type of cornstarch mixed with water to make a consistency like heavy cream.
manila file folder, poster board or other thin cardboard
You may want to try the method using glue stick. I use an acid free glue stick that I get at K-mart, but for the practice you can use whatever you have on hand.

............

Are you ready? Are you scared... fraidy cat????

First a little trivia about these heart directions. In 1990 I taught a "lap quilting" class a la Georgia Bonesteel. I needed a guide for the class to follow... so I wrote my very own book! This is the BC (before computer graphics for me!) I hand made all of the graphics and typed the directions on an old Radio Shack computer. Then I took the computer printout (I had a dot matrix printer... remember the letters made from little squares?) Okay, quit laughing! Let's see, I took the computer text and glued the graphics on the pages and then took that whole thing to Kinko's and copied it all together. Oh my... what a wonderful memory!
I thought it would be fun to include those hand made graphics here for you since the method is timeless anyway. Maybe later when I get more time I will take digital pictures like the rest of my web pages, but for now enjoy the hand made ones.

The stitch you will use. It is important to learn the correct invisible stitch. One you learn the stitch, all of your hand appliqué will be easy and beautiful.
So, if all it takes is learning the stitch, why aren't more people doing appliqué? They are afraid... they have heard horror stories... or they just don't know how.
I did an internet search for pages on appliqué to link to and although I did find a few that sell patterns, there was almost no direction on how to do "the stitch" or how to deal with points or corners.
We will try to change that here....

The tack stitch out the fold... diagram...

First

This stitch is virtually invisible when you use matching thread and only grab the very tiniest bit of fabric on the fold.
To get started, knot your thread and bring your needle out of the fold of the appliqué.
The needle then goes into the background fabric exactly opposite of where it came out of the fold and a tiny bit under the appliqué.
Then you come up into the appliqué from the back, swing the eye end of the needle toward you so the tip twists toward the fold. You will have to "twist" the fabric just a little.
Second

Bring the needle out the fold and pull thread.
Re-enter the background fabric *exactly* opposite of where you came out in the fold and just under the fold of the appliqué.
Repeat twisting the needle toward you, coming out in the fold of the fabric and re-entering the background fabric.
The closer your stitches, the neater your appliqué will be.
I usually have the stitches about 1/16th an inch apart. Yes, that is close, but it looks so nice!

Just get two pieces of scrap fabric and practice.
Remember, like everything else it takes practice! If you have difficulty coming out exactly in the fold, you can take a tiny bite of the appliqué fabric. As long as you use matching thread and go back into the background exactly opposite of where you came out the fold, your stitches will not show very much. That is the beauty of hand appliqué. The two fabrics will look like they are woven as one.
I appliqué with my work flat on a surface. I have seen some "pick it up" and appliqué. Whatever is comfortable for you that is what you should do.

Page 1 practice
The invisible stitch
(here)
Page 2 practice
Making freezer paper templates
Page 3 practice
Cutting out the freezer paper appliqué's
Page 4 practice
Folding fabric over the template
Page 5 practice
Remove paper from inside of appliqué

Main Pumpkin Appliqué Page Back to Main Haunted Path Page Back to Main One Day Quilt Frenzy Page Back to the Applique Main Page

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Supplies for practice hearts: You will need two different 6 inch squares of cotton fabric for each heart section. (four sections make up each heart block below. A nice thin long needle. Appliqué needles are the best but for some practice you can just use a nice thin needle. A thick large needle does not do the job! Thread to match your fabrics. I use a poly/cotton thread but later you may want to invest on some silk thread or some all cotton thread. Small "sharp to the point" scissors.	Iron Freezer paper Spray starch or liquid starch. If you don't have any of those, you can use the baking type of cornstarch mixed with water to make a consistency like heavy cream. manila file folder, poster board or other thin cardboard You may want to try the method using glue stick. I use an acid free glue stick that I get at K-mart, but for the practice you can use whatever you have on hand.
............
Are you ready? Are you scared... fraidy cat????
First a little trivia about these heart directions. In 1990 I taught a "lap quilting" class a la Georgia Bonesteel. I needed a guide for the class to follow... so I wrote my very own book! This is the BC (before computer graphics for me!) I hand made all of the graphics and typed the directions on an old Radio Shack computer. Then I took the computer printout (I had a dot matrix printer... remember the letters made from little squares?) Okay, quit laughing! Let's see, I took the computer text and glued the graphics on the pages and then took that whole thing to Kinko's and copied it all together. Oh my... what a wonderful memory! I thought it would be fun to include those hand made graphics here for you since the method is timeless anyway. Maybe later when I get more time I will take digital pictures like the rest of my web pages, but for now enjoy the hand made ones.
The stitch you will use. It is important to learn the correct invisible stitch. One you learn the stitch, all of your hand appliqué will be easy and beautiful. So, if all it takes is learning the stitch, why aren't more people doing appliqué? They are afraid... they have heard horror stories... or they just don't know how.	I did an internet search for pages on appliqué to link to and although I did find a few that sell patterns, there was almost no direction on how to do "the stitch" or how to deal with points or corners. We will try to change that here....
The tack stitch out the fold... diagram...
First This stitch is virtually invisible when you use matching thread and only grab the very tiniest bit of fabric on the fold. To get started, knot your thread and bring your needle out of the fold of the appliqué. The needle then goes into the background fabric exactly opposite of where it came out of the fold and a tiny bit under the appliqué. Then you come up into the appliqué from the back, swing the eye end of the needle toward you so the tip twists toward the fold. You will have to "twist" the fabric just a little.	Second Bring the needle out the fold and pull thread. *Re-enter the background fabric exactly* opposite of where you came out in the fold and just under the fold of the appliqué. Repeat twisting the needle toward you, coming out in the fold of the fabric and re-entering the background fabric. The closer your stitches, the neater your appliqué will be. I usually have the stitches about 1/16th an inch apart. Yes, that is close, but it looks so nice!**
Just get two pieces of scrap fabric and practice. Remember, like everything else it takes practice!	If you have difficulty coming out exactly in the fold, you can take a tiny bite of the appliqué fabric. As long as you use matching thread and go back into the background exactly opposite of where you came out the fold, your stitches will not show very much. That is the beauty of hand appliqué. The two fabrics will look like they are woven as one. I appliqué with my work flat on a surface. I have seen some "pick it up" and appliqué. Whatever is comfortable for you that is what you should do.