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Transcript:

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Hello and welcome to Love to Sew! I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew, and it’s all know how to talk about.

Helen: This episode is all about appliqué. We’re going to share some appliqué inspo, walk you through different methods of machine and hand appliqué, and give you a bunch of tips. Appliqué a quilt, appliqué your clothes, appliqué a wall hanging. You’ll want to appliqué your whole life by the time we’re finished this episode.

Caroline: If you love to sew, this is your show.

Hi, Helen.

Helen: Hi, Caroline.

Caroline: How are you?

Helen: I’m doing well. How are you?

Caroline: I’m good.

Helen: Do you think that anything in this episode is gonna be, like, applicable to us?

Caroline: Oh, no. You didn’t even go there. Oh, my gosh. I don’t know. I think if we apply some common sense, we will be able to, to do some of this in our everyday life. Maybe? You know?

Helen: I thought you had another pun in there. I was waiting.

Caroline: Sorry. I was trying, but it didn’t come to me.

Helen: But in all honesty, I have not done a ton of appliqué, but I have been a long time admirer, first time appliqué-er.

Caroline: Same, same. Not a ton, but I’ve been pretty inspired by Lisa, our assistant, who…

Helen: Mm-hmm.

Caroline: …recently did an appliqué project that was pretty gorge.

Helen: Cool. Hopefully, she’ll share it in our Instagram this week. That’d be fun.

Caroline: Hint, hint, hint. Hi, Lisa.

Helen: No, appliqué is honestly really cool. It has so many different possibilities, uses. You can do a lot with it, so that’s what we’re gonna talk about today. But we’re starting off with a question here from Allison: “Dropped shoulders are everywhere these days, but they’re not for me. My question is, if I find a pattern that I otherwise like, but it has a dropped shoulder or sleeve, how feasible is it to adjust it to be a set-in sleeve? Or is it just too much a part of the design of the garment?”

Caroline: Hi, Allison. Thank you for this question. It’s usually possible to change a pattern from a dropped shoulder to a set-in sleeve. However, it will definitely depend on the pattern. So the closer a dropped sleeve pattern is to looking like a set-in sleeve, the better. So you’re looking for a medium amount of ease in the body. If there’s too much ease, the look of the garment is just gonna change too much.

With a set-in sleeve, another thing to look for is the amount of drop in the shoulder of the pattern. The less dropped the sleeve, the better for this adjustment. And if you’re sewing for a larger bust, look for a dart. Sometimes, a pattern has dropped sleeves because the dart has been eased into the fabric at the shoulder. So you’ll need that dart if you’re gonna put set-in sleeves.

Helen: In order to do this alteration, you’ll wanna have a pattern with set-in sleeves that fits you well, something that you know is gonna work for you that you’ve used before. Lay the bodice of the set-in sleeve pattern over the bodice of the dropped sleeve pattern and trace off that armscye. You wanna match the centre fronts of the pattern and line up the shoulder seams as best you can.

And then you’ll take the sleeve piece for the set-in sleeve pattern, and you’ll lay it over the dropped sleeve piece and you’re gonna trace off that armscye. So you’re, kind of, making a pattern mashup. Now you’re ready to cut out your pattern. And by the way, you can do this in reverse, as well. So if you like a pattern with set-in sleeves, but you prefer drop shoulders, you could change that using a pattern that you have used in the past that has a dropped shoulder.

Caroline: Yes. I think that would work even better, almost, to do that swap.

Helen: I mean, I like to say in these situations, like, anything is possible, right? Like, you can definitely do this. It will take a little bit of effort, and you probably will wanna make a muslin or a few trial versions to get the fit right. Change the ease perhaps. But if there’s other elements of the garment you really enjoy, say the collar or the front placket or the pockets or something like that, then, yeah, you can just change the sleeves and maybe adjust the shape at the sides a little bit. So you’re getting the other elements that you like without that dropped shoulder element.

Caroline: And you can also think about the details that you like and think about whether there’s a pattern you already have with set-in sleeves that you can hack to add those details potentially instead of completely changing the dropped shoulder pattern.

Helen: Yeah, totally.

Caroline: Okay, it’s time to get into the rest of the show. Today we’re talking about appliqué. And appliqué is when you attach smaller pieces of fabric, usually cut into shapes onto a base fabric. The word appliqué is also a noun. The fabric pieces are called appliqués. Appliqués are sewn on flats so that they become part of the base fabric. But with that said, they can have 3D elements.

Helen: I’m basing this on assumption, but the word appliqué feels, sorry to say it again, applicable, because it’s literally an applying of a layer, right? And you’re applying it together, and it’s applied on, so I’m, I’m assuming where, that’s where it comes from.

Caroline: I think, I think you’re onto something.

Helen: Oh, thank you. I feel smart. Okay. Knowing various appliqué techniques can actually really open up options for embellishing your me-mades. So here’s some examples of garments that have appliqués. You could do a floral cotton lawn dress with a lace yoke appliqué, a button down with embroidered bird appliqués at the shoulders, a sheer organza shirt with sequin appliqués sewn on it, like polka dots, a denim jacket with a custom design portrait of your dog, appliqué on the back.

Caroline: Ooh, I’m into that. But appliqué isn’t just for clothing. There’s a long tradition of appliqué in quilting, as well. There are traditional appliqué blocks, like the Dresden Plate, and vintage appliqué blocks, like the Sun Bonnet Sue. There are also local traditions, like Hawaiian appliqué quilting, which has detailed symmetrical nature-inspired appliqués. There’s also a ton of freedom in appliqué. You can represent anything you want, depending on the fabrics and shapes you design, and you can make super detailed portraits or simple and effective silhouettes.

Helen: I like that appliqué offers this variety where you can purchase pre-made items and literally sew them onto the thing that you’re making. Or you can go way off down your own path, cut out literally any shape you could imagine and sew that on. So you really have so many options here, and you don’t necessarily have to get super artistic and creative with it. You can just buy the store bought stuff, if that’s more your speed.

Caroline: Yeah. It is another way you can incorporate sewing into your life without, like, sewing a whole garment.

Helen: Mm, totally.

Caroline: We’re, we’re always into that. Okay. Before we get into how to appliqué, let’s talk about some of the appliqué makes that inspire us. We’ll have links and pictures for these in the show notes, so definitely check those out if you wanna see what we’re talking about.

Helen: Let’s start with quilt shall we? Artist Carson Ellis made what they call their “Medieval Death Quilt.” It’s a two-colour quilt in a pink and rusty red in the centre. There’s a medieval woman standing under an arch of branches with roses and leaves. Embroidered ants march along the branches. And there’s also text which reads, “Artful insects play it / Ants go marching to it / Ten by ten to twining do it.” And it’s so gorgeous and impactful and, kind of, creepy in the best way. It mixes appliqué, embroidery, and traditional piecing so wel. Definitely have to check out the “Medieval Death Quilt.” It’s so cool.

Caroline: It’s so cool, and I love the juxtaposition of, like, these, kind of, more ornate shapes with the really modern colour combo of red and pink that’s really popular. It’s just such a beautiful, beautiful quilt.

Many of the quilts by Social Justice Sewing Academy incorporate appliqué into their designs. It’s one of the simplest and most impactful ways to make recognizable images out of fabric. Social Justice Sewing Academy has a project called the Remembrance Project. Sewists make activist art banners featuring portraits, memorialising people lost to violence. They’re really beautiful and each one is so different. By the way, there’s a long history of appliqué banners in activism. Now that’s a research rabbit hole for you to go down.

Helen: Yeah, it’s so cool, and it can be, like, a great outlet for people who are maybe not as familiar with sewing techniques because appliqué is pretty straightforward. You take fabric, and you sew it onto other fabric. You can really get creative. You can leave the edges raw, you can play with lots of different materials. So treating it more like an art project or an artistic expression can be a great way to treat appliqué. Yeah. The Remembrance Project is a wonderful example.

Mary Vaughn made a quilt inspired by one in the V&A museum’s collection in the English appliqué style, which is basically a bunch of silhouette appliqués spread over a large background piece rather than separated into blocks. The quilt has white appliqués on a red background, and there are scissors and baskets and forks and cats and horses and anchors, and even martini glasses. And I just love the boldness of the red and white, and again, just the endless possibility. Any shape you can imagine, you can make an appliqué.

Caroline: Yeah, I love the idea of having a big, sort of, blank slate, and then you just slowly add different motifs and imagery on, and it can be just, like, a lifelong project. It

Helen: Totally.

Caroline: Now let’s get into a few inspiring appliqué garments. Jessica Cork recently made a blouse with lace pieces appliquéed to the bib. It’s a really fun retro look. Jessica actually used a lace doily with a daisy design for her appliqué. But you can also buy lace appliqués that are specifically shaped for yokes, bibs, and plackets.

Helen: Ooh, fun. Anna @Tartan_Tarlatan on Instagram made a really cool appliqué crop top inspired by a vintage designer piece by Luella Ballerino. It’s a symmetrical design of plant shapes on black linen with an orange-y pink linen background, and she designed the appliqués to be shaped like healing herbs. I am obsessed with this top. It’s so cool.

Caroline: Julia Bobbin altered her sister-in-law’s wedding dress, which she bought when she wasn’t pregnant to fit her at 28 weeks pregnant with the help of appliqués. She bought some lace appliqués that went really well with the original lace appliqués of the dress and hand sewed them over the stretch panels. She inserted into the sides. The dress was so beautiful that people couldn’t believe it was altered.

Helen: Very clever.

Caroline: So talented.

Helen: So talented. Crescent Shay made a gown inspired by Taylor Swift’s 2021 Grammy dress. She combined a floral embroidered net fabric with a bunch of three dimensional floral appliqués, and it looks amazing.

Caroline: Okay. Now that we’re all fired up and inspired, let’s talk about the process of appliqué. Your first step will be to get the appliqués themselves, and you have some choices here. You can buy appliqués from Etsy or fabric stores. The kinds of appliqués you can buy are usually a bit fancier, like lace, sequin, and beaded ones. You can also find lots of patches, which are technically appliqués, and by the way, lace appliqués aren’t only for formal outfits. Cotton lace appliqués look great on cotton print fabrics. Also, just, like, take a drink every time I say appliqué because it’s.

Helen: Appa, appa, appa, appliqué. You can also cut out appliqués from embellished fabrics. If you’re using a sequined or embroidered fabric that has a regular design, you can cut out some of those design elements and appliqué them here and there for extra oomph.

Caroline: You can buy patterns for appliqué. This is most common with quilting. Sand & Stars has some great patterns – we love the Blomma, which is a modern quilt inspired by Scandinavian folk flower designs. I love this one. It’s so pretty.

Helen: It’s so cool. Yeah, I really love this quilt, as well. And you can do traditional appliqué quilt blocks like the Orange Peel or the Dresden Plate, which we previously mentioned. And that’s a really great way to try appliqué, kind of, low stakes, just a little bit of fabric. You’re just trying out a quilt block, not necessarily gonna use it for anything. Just having fun.

Caroline: It’s a slippery slope, Helen, just one quilt box. I don’t know.

Helen: Try, try it.

Caroline: But the most versatile way to get appliqués is to design them yourself. There’s seriously no limit to the images you can create.

Helen: Okay. This brings us into the technique part of the episode because there are a bunch of different ways to appliqué, to apply the appliqué, and we are going to go over them now. So first, let’s go over some different ways of making the appliqués. If you’re using a pattern, you can print it out and cut the shapes out of paper. If you’re designing your own, you can sketch out your design first.

Caroline: Avoid making any super narrow parts. Make sure all the parts of your design are at least a quarter of an inch wide. The easiest designs to sew are gonna have gentle curves and few points. Leaves or petals are a great place to start for beginners. Of course, the more comfortable you get with appliqué, the more complex and detailed your shapes can become.

Helen: I suppose the simplest appliqué would be a circle, right? Like, all around, and you could just cover a whole top in, like, cute little dotted circles.

Caroline: But don’t you think circles are kind of hard to, like, turn under? I guess it would be really easy if it’s raw edge appliqué.

Helen: I think it’d be easier ‘cause you won’t have to turn any corners.

Caroline: True, true, true, true.

Helen: Can you tell that we haven’t done much appliqué?

Caroline: We’ll just have to try it.

Helen: We’re just gonna have to try it. Once you’re happy with your design, you’re gonna mark out the shape in a darker colour so you can see it really well, and then, you’re gonna cut it out.

Caroline: Some sewists like to transfer the design to a heavier paper or cardboard, so it’s gonna be easier to trace onto the fabric later on. This is especially handy if you’re going to use the same shape over and over. Old cereal boxes are perfect for this.

Helen: Now you’re gonna take the pattern you made and place it on the fabric. Trace the outline of the shape using a marking tool, and don’t worry about the seam allowance just yet.

Caroline: Now you have a couple of options. If you’re gonna do raw edge appliqué, just cut along the outline you marked. If you’re gonna turn the edges under, cut around the shape, leaving about a quarter inch of seam allowance. It doesn’t have to be perfectly accurate.

Helen: If you plan on interfacing your appliqués, these steps will go a bit differently. Some sewists like to interface their appliqués because it keeps the image from crumpling up with the fabric. If you’re using a satin stitch or narrow zigzag to finish the edge of your appliqués, interfacing will also help to prevent tunnelling in those areas. It also beefs up flimsy fabrics and makes them a bit easier to handle.

Caroline: Here’s how to interface raw edge appliqués: block fuse the interfacing to the fabric; trace the appliqué shape onto the interfacing side; and cut the shape out along the lines.

Helen: And here’s how to interface appliqués with the edges turned under: you’re gonna trace your design onto the fusible interfacing rather than the fabric; cut the shape out and fuse it onto your fabric; then, cut the excess fabric away, leaving some seam allowance, so your seam allowance isn’t interfaced, making it easier to turn under later.

Caroline: If you’re not doing raw edge appliqué, you’re probably gonna need to do some clipping. For concave curves, clip the seam allowance perpendicularly up to a scant eighth of an inch away from the outline. You probably don’t need to clip the convex curves since they can fold under and remain flat. Some sewists do clip them though.

Helen: Yeah, it really depends. Of course, if you’re approaching, like, an inverted corner, you’re gonna have to clip into that to turn it under, and then, do some extra tight stitches in that area to make it really nice and secure. But you’ll all be quite familiar with clipping from your garment sewing. So I think, use your intuition.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: So, If you’re turning your edges under, then you can go ahead and press them. At this point, you can finger press or use an iron. It’s easier to do detailed pressing when you finger press, but of course, it doesn’t hold as well as it does when you give it a good press with an iron. If you trace your pattern onto cardboard, you can use that cardboard piece as a jig and actually fold your fabric over the edge. That can really work. Do a combination, like, you know, fold it with your fingers and give it a good press, and then, press it with your iron. And once you’ve done all that, your appliqués are ready to sew.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. Your first step is to place your appliqué on your backing fabric, and you have a few options for holding it down. You can use pins. Appliqué pins are short and fine. Clover’s are only three quarters of an inch long, and they’re good for detailed appliqués and holding down curves. For simpler appliqués, regular pins work fine. If you’re hand sewing your appliqués, pin them on the wrong side so that your thread doesn’t catch on them.

Helen: For raw edge appliqué, you can use fusible web. Trace your shape onto the web’s paper backing, and then press it upside down onto your fabric. Cut the shape out of the now fused web and fabric. Then, peel off that backing and fuse the shape onto your background fabric. This is essentially a double-sided tape.

Caroline: You can hold your appliqués down with small dots of fabric, glue, or liquid school glue, dotted onto the appliqué. Press it firmly to your backing fabric, and then, turn your backing fabric over and gently press it. Pressing from the wrong side of the backing fabric makes it so that the seam allowance doesn’t make a ridge on the front of the appliqué. It’s a great tip.

Helen: You can baste your appliqués down. Use longhand stitches in a contrasting thread, and then, spray basting is another option. You can spray the wrong side of your appliqué rather than your fabric backing, and then, you’ll stick it onto your backing.

Caroline: It is time for a short break. We’ll be right back.

Love to Sew is made possible by listeners like you. We are so grateful for the support of our amazing patrons and subscribers. If you love Love to Sew and you want to help support the pod, we have a new option for you.

Helen: You can now become a paid subscriber on Apple Podcasts. Subscribers get access to our monthly bonus episodes, and it’s so convenient. If you already use Apple Podcasts, the episodes are right there in your feed.

Caroline: So what are the bonus episodes? Well, we do a chatty catch-up on what’s been happening in our lives, share about the realities of running a small business, discuss new indie pattern releases, and talk about what we’re sewing right now.

Many of our subscribers say these fun bonus episodes are their favourite. And if you subscribe, you get access to the full back catalogue. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. We also do a mini episode that deep dives into a specific topic. We get to discuss so many fun sewing techniques and answer specific subscriber questions about sewing.

Helen: And we are still on Patreon. If you subscribe over there, you can get access to the bonus episodes, behind the scenes photos, and a special 15% off discount code at our super fan patron tier. That discount applies at Helen’s Closet, Cedar Quilt Co., Blackbird Fabrics, and BF Patterns. If you shop with us regularly, it basically pays for itself. Head to patreon.com/LoveToSew to see all the perks and options.

Caroline: If you’d like to try out Patreon or Apple podcast subscriptions and check out our bonus content, you can sign up for a free seven-day trial. And, of course, you can help support the show by listening just like you are right now.

You can also leave a review. Reviews really help our show get discovered by new listeners. We know that financial support isn’t always possible. And we want you to know that we love you for listening.

Helen: Go to patreon.com/LoveToSew or visit our show’s page in the Apple podcast app to become a paid subscriber. Thank you to all our listeners, patrons, and subscribers. You’re the best.

And we’re back with more appliqué goodness. So, let’s recap. You’ve attached your cutout and interfaced potentially and turned under appliqués to your fabric, and the next step is to stitch them down. The quickest way to do this is on your sewing machine.

Caroline: Yes, raw edge appliqué is often finished with a narrow zigzag or satin stitch over the edge. It encloses it so that it’s never gonna fray, and the buttonhole or blanket stitch is also popular.

Helen: You can use a decorative stitch over the edge or close to it if your sewing machine came with, like, a thousand decorative stitches like mine did. Now is your chance.

Caroline: Another option is just to use a straight stitch, close to the edge of the appliqué. For projects that are going to get washed and dried a lot, just know that it will probably fray. It’s a casual look.

Helen: Yeah, this can really accentuate the fabric depending on how it looks when it’s frayed, so you can do some experimentation and see if you like it. For appliqués that have the edges turned under, you won’t have to worry so much about fraying, so you can just use a straight stitch without fear.

Caroline: You could also use a blind hem stitch to stitch on appliqués. This stitch has a few straight stitches followed by a single zigzag that looks like a sideways V. When you use a blind hem stitch to appliqué, choose a thread that matches your backing fabric. You’re going to aim your stitches close to the edge of the appliqué on the backing fabric, and those little v stitches are gonna reach in and tack your appliqué down at even intervals. It looks almost invisible. It’s really cool.

Helen: It is so cool, and you can also do a narrow zigzag, a satin stitch, a blanket stitch, or a decorative stitch over the edges of appliqués with the edges turned under. Just keep in mind that the seam allowance will add some extra bulk to those stitches. But if you want that reassurance that the edges are not gonna fray, you can definitely use a turned under edge and then, also a satin stitch. And just really, really stick it on there.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s on there for life…

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Sewing appliqués by hand takes longer, but it can be easier than trying to sew a bunch of small curves and angles. On a sewing machine, you can be much more precise. I know sewing curves on a sewing machine sometimes can be tricky, so sewing by hand really appeals to me.

Helen: Yeah, especially with this kind of precision work. If you have any, like, neck or back pain, be very careful at the sewing machine ‘cause you’ll definitely end up fully hunched over, like, squinting at your tiny little curves. And it can be a lot more relaxing to sit outside or on your couch with your appliqué project, just turning things under by hand. Hand sewn appliqué is sometimes called needle turn appliqué because you can use your needle to help you turn the seam allowance under as you sew.

Caroline: Ooh. And there are a couple of different hand stitches you can use to get an invisible, or nearly invisible, look. The more traditional appliqué stitch works a bit like a slip stitch. You bring the needle up from the wrong side of the backing fabric right next to the folded edge of the appliqué, and then, you insert the needle in the fold of the appliqué and back out. Your thread will be hidden in the fold of the appliqué. Then, you insert your needle in the backing right next to the fold of the appliqué and bring it back up, again near the fold. Then, another stitch in the fold of the appliqué and another in the backing all the way around. It’s invisible on the top and looks like a running stitch on the back.

Helen: The second stitch you can use is, kind of, like a whip stitch. You start by bringing the needle up in the appliqué, just a few threads away from the fold. Bring the needle down into the backing at the edge of the appliqué, and then, bring it up diagonally into the appliqué. This leaves you with very small stitches perpendicular to the edge. If you’re attaching appliqués that are on a sheer backing fabric, you might wanna use this stitch instead of a traditional needle turn appliqué stitch because the sheer fabric won’t hide those stitches that go in the fold.

Caroline: Yeah, so if they’re not hidden anyway, why not make them intentionally visible?

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: I know this can be hard to visualise in a podcast medium. So there are videos for both of these stitches in Suzy Quilts’s Needle Turn Appliqué tutorial. We’re gonna have that linked up for you in the show notes, so definitely check it out if you’re interested in learning more about these stitches.

Helen: A couple more tips for nearly invisible hand stitched appliqués are to keep your stitches small, about an eighth of an inch, and to choose a thread that matches the appliqué, not the backing fabric. This will help it to blend in more.

Caroline: Hand stitching is the best way to invisibly attach appliqués. But that doesn’t mean you have to make your stitches invisible. You can do some bold hand stitching to attach raw edge or edge turned appliqués. It would look amazing in herringbone stitch, cross stitch, or even a simple running stitch.

I also just wanna say we’re talking a lot about different types of stitches and rules and ideas for how you can appliqué, but I feel like this is one of those crafts that you can, kind of, just wing it and it’s gonna look cool no matter what. So, like, don’t worry too much about the type of stitch that you’re using. If it looks good to you and it attaches the appliqué to your base fabric, then I say go for it. It’s a great way to let your artistic side shine.

Helen: Especially if you’re doing a project where you might be using multiple different fabrics or you’re just playing around, you just wanna try things. You can try lots of different appliqué techniques on the same project. Why not?

Caroline: Like, a sampler maybe. A sampler quilt.

Helen: Ooh. Or, like, a wall hanging, you know, like, a little something for your sewing room or for your bedroom. Yeah. Super cool.

Caroline: So that’s the general outline for how to appliqué. As you can tell, you have a ton of choices: raw edge or edge turned in; interfacing or no; pins or glue; machine stitching or hand stitching and more. But don’t get too overwhelmed. Just choose whatever sounds best to you based on the end result you want, and how much time, energy, and money you wanna put into it.

Helen: There are also a few other appliqué tips that we’d like to share before we move on to fabric advice. Yes, it’s coming. If you have a cutting machine, like a Cricut, you can design and cut your appliqués with that super easy and fast, and I’m jealous.

Caroline: You can use clear or smoke threads for less visible machine stitching. These threads can be tricky to work with, but they do give a really low profile look. It’ll probably need a higher tension setting on your machine than usual. It can help to make your spool pin vertical, too, if your thread’s having problems slipping off the edge. Shannon Reed tested a bunch of invisible threads for Quilters Review and gave some tips for using it. You can find that article in the show notes.

Helen: Another way to make your stitching less visible is to choose a less shiny thread for your top thread. Aurifil thread is like that. It, kind of, melts into the fabric. I mean, not literally, but it blends.

Caroline: Lace appliqués don’t usually come with a backing. You can attach them by machine with a zigzag stitch over the outermost edge if you want the appliqué to lay flat. You could also consider putting your stitch line inward from the edge, leaving the ends hanging free. I think that could be really cute. If you wanna sew them down by hand, a whip stitch over the edge would work really well.

I saw a lot of that hanging lace appliqué when I went wedding dress shopping for research, and it does give a really pretty effect. It almost can come across as, like, ethereal and, like, the appliqué, sort of, like, floating, and it’s just really nice and delicate.

Helen: Adding some extra whimsy.

Caroline: Whimsy. Yes, the appliqué floating in the wind.

Helen: It’s also less pressure ‘cause you don’t have to follow the edge a closely.

Caroline: Totally. Yes. Love that.

Helen: Some sewists like to use a hoop for hand appliqué. Like, you would if you were doing embroidery. Others don’t. If your base fabric is sturdy enough, you might not need a hoop. But some people like that. It keeps everything taught and smooth. It’s just individual preference. So if you’re getting frustrated with everything moving around try a hoop, see If you like it.

Caroline: Hoop it.

Helen: Hoop it up.

Caroline: If you wanna do an edge turned appliqué, but turning the edges under is too fiddly for your taste, we have a method for you to raise your appliqué shape onto a piece of sew-in, not fusible, interfacing. With your interfacing and your fabric right sides together, stitch along the outline with a straight stitch leaving a small opening trim away the excess, leaving a scant quarter inch seam allowance. Clip and notch the curves. Turn the shape right side out and press it. You’ll probably need a blunt tool, like a chopstick to turn out all the edges really nicely, and now your appliqué is ready to stitch down. I think this technique would be a little bit bulkier than other ones, but if you use a lightweight interfacing, it shouldn’t be too noticeable. I love this idea. I feel like it’s, like, making your own little patches almost.

Helen: Exactly. It’s like, yeah, making your own little pizza pockets for your…

Caroline: Little pizza pie. Oh, my God. I, we have to make pizza shaped appliqués.

Helen: It would be cute. It’s, like, you could appliqué on appliqué ‘cause you gotta put your slice down, and then, you have to appliqué on the little, like, peppers and mushrooms.

Caroline: What if I like prosciutto on my pizza?

Helen: That’s okay. You could probably find some fabric that would work for that or some ribbon.

Caroline: Yes. Oh, my gosh. Rabbit hole already. Okay.

Helen: Speaking of fiddly edge turning, here’s another method that will really help with that. It’s called the freezer paper method. Basically, you’re making a jig out of freezer paper, which is like parchment paper that’s coated on one side with plastic. So you cut out maybe four layers of the paper, stack them together and press them so that they stick together.

So, this is gonna be your jig. Then, you trace your appliqué shape onto it and cut it out. Now you can press the jig onto your fabric with the plastic side down. It will stick to your fabric without making a mess. No shifting around. And then you can press your seam allowance in. Let the fabric cool and peel out the jig, and you can reuse it over and over. Genius.

Caroline: This is very smart.

Helen: I heard it on a podcast once. I don’t know.

Caroline: Alright. Finally, let’s talk about fabrics. Quilters usually use quilting cottons. Naturally. There’s such a good selection of colours and prints, and you can even skip pre-wash because everything will shrink similarly.

Helen: You wanna think about contrast when you’re choosing colours for your appliqué. If you want your appliqués to be really visible and make a big impact, you’ll need to choose a fabric that stands out against your background fabric, but you don’t necessarily have to do that. If you wanted to do a little more bit more subtle appliqué, maybe you’re going for something more textural. You’re not necessarily wanting that bold contrast. You can really play around here, so…

Caroline: You’re definitely also not limited to solid fabrics. Prints can make amazing, textured, fun appliqués. You can even fussy cut pictures out of a print fabric to make appliqués. I love the idea of taking a print that I love and cutting out some of the shapes and using those as appliqués on a different project. It’s, kind of, like a way to let that print live on elsewhere.

Helen: Totally, and a great way to use your fabric scraps. I mean, come on. This is, like, the perfect use for them. If you’re using a flimsy fabric, definitely fuse some interfacing on there because a flimsy fabric or something really shifty like a rayon. Honestly, it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be hard, so make it easier on yourself and interface it.

Caroline: And if you’re not only using quilting cottons, pre-wash all of your natural fibre fabrics before you do anything else. This includes rayons. They’re man-made, but they are made of cellulose, so they’re gonna shrink in the wash. To be honest, rayons are so shifty that they sound like, kind of, a nightmare to appliqué. That’s when you wanna break out the interfacing.

Helen: Yeah, a hundred percent. I think linen would make a great choice for appliqué and would give you, like, a very nice, soft lived-in feel, especially if you were appliquéing linen on linen for a top or a dress or jacket or something. I mean, I am having visions, Caroline.

Caroline: Okay. Speaking of which, can we, I, I wanna have, like, a little dream sesh and…

Helen: Ooh.

Caroline: …‘cause we’ve admitted, we haven’t done a ton of appliqué, but I’m feeling very inspired. So I wanna know if you could start an appliqué project, like, this weekend, what are you doing? What are you making? What are you appliquéing?

Helen: Oh, it’s tough. I think I’d like to try, like we were saying earlier, a little sampler situation. Maybe try making a tapestry of some kind that I could hang up in my studio. But as far as, like, a dream project, I could totally see a simple top, like the Ashton top with appliquéd elements on it. Similarly to that one, we were admiring at the top of the show that orange and black one. Maybe, like, some hands or…

Caroline: Ooh.

Helen: …a bird or floral element or a snake. A snake would be cool. A snake would be really cool.

Caroline: I love this. I, I, okay. I’m thinking about, like, small and larger projects. I would love to incorporate appliqué into some mending and maybe mend some holes in some of the garments that I have sitting in my to mend pile with some little shapes or appliqués. And I feel like that would be a really fun project. Just interface behind and then put the appliqué on top and, sort of, hide your mending with some beautiful shapes and things.

Helen: Well, it is your mending. I mean, yeah, it’s brilliant. That’s a great way to use it and a great application. I did it.

Caroline: Oh, you didn’t. But I also, I would love more of, like, a, like a lifelong project, which I know is dreaming really big, but, like, some kind of large blanket or a block of the month, but maybe it’s, like, a block of the quarter kind of situation where I can just slowly work on, like, smaller pieces when I’m watching TV and then, eventually it’ll become something larger. Something…

Helen: That would be cool.

Caroline: …I could take around with me, and I don’t know. There’s something about that that sounds really, really nice.

Helen: Yeah, or, like, along the same lines as that V&A Museum inspiration. Like, you could have a big piece of background fabric, and then, every once in a while you just add a little something to it, a little appliqué patch, and it’s something you could work on when you’re sitting on your couch watching TV, and you can just add to it whenever you feel like it, or maybe you add to it when you have important, meaningful events happen in your life or something you’re proud of, or maybe something you’re going through that you need to process. You can sit down and think and stitch and add a patch that’s, sort of, like, this story of your life. I think that that is so cool.

Caroline: Yeah, and I’ve seen some really cool appliqué patches on Instagram over the last little while. I think it was Rachel from Minimalist Machinist that did a whole bunch of, I believe it was appliqué, and then, she ended up using it as, like, a patch on a pair of pants. But, like, the whole front of the pants was, like, a big, sort of, block that she had made.

Helen: Cool.

Caroline: I believe that’s, it was appliqué, not quilting, but I think it could totally work for appliqué, even if it was quilting. I think it’s just such a versatile craft that you could use for so many different kinds of projects, so many different styles, and it’s also just such an awesome scrap buster. So we…

Helen: It really is.

Caroline: …always love a scrap buster. We’re always looking for it, right?

Helen: Yes. I love the shape and style of appliqué, as well. Like, it typically tends to be simpler shapes, so they’re a little bit simplified, like, not necessarily a lot of detail. Kind of similar to block printing,

Caroline: Yeah, I was gonna say it’s blocky.

Helen: It’s blocky. Yeah. Which really appeals to me, it looks very fibre arty.

Caroline: Mm-hmm. Oh, I’m feeling very inspired, and I hope you are, too, listener. All you listeners out there.

Helen: Yeah, because we have a challenge for you.

Caroline: Oh, boy, do we. We wanted to create a hashtag that you can use to share your appliqué projects with us. So use the #LoveToSewApplique. And this is for just about anyone. If you’ve never done appliqué before, try it out. If you’ve done appliqué before, share some of your favourite projects with us. And if you have any appliqué tips, please show us. Share them with us. We’d love to hear from you and see all of your amazing projects and get even more inspired this week.

Helen: Yeah, and if you’re listening to this, not the week it comes out, that’s fine, too. You can still use the hashtag, and we’ll still see it, and it will be great.

Caroline: Yes, and we’ll be sharing some of the posts in our stories from October 24th through to November 24th. So once again, that’s #LoveToSewApplique. We’re gonna do it for a whole month, and we really wanna see your projects. So please, please share.

Helen: Yeah, Caroline, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do appliqué. I’m doing it.

Caroline: I believe in you.

Helen: Thank you. It’s high time, but honestly, I’m so proud of you, Caroline. You really applied yourself during this recording sesh.

Caroline: Oh, my gosh. I’m gonna go apply for a new job if you keep this up, Helen.

That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Caroline, at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns, and Helen at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Helen: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalogue of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. Go to patreon.com/LoveToSew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Caroline: You can head to LoveToSewPodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at hello@LoveToSewPodcast.com.

Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team, Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore of the PodCabin is our editor. And Margaret Wakelee is our transcriber. And thank you for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.

Caroline: Buh-bye.

Helen: Bye.

Caroline: Interfacing or no; pins or glue; matching stitching or hatch or mat hatcheting.

Helen: Matching stitching or hatcheting. That’s supposed to say machine stitching or hand stitching.

Caroline: Wow. I’m gonna start that one over. Rewind. Eerr.

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