This Thing Called Machine Applique

It's no secret that I love needle turn applique.  It's portable, it gives me more control over tiny pieces, and it has a soft look.  My love for needle turn is boundless to the point I'm afraid I became the dreaded applique snob.  Most of the time I wouldn't even consider machine applique on anything.

But my, my how things do change.  Enter one granddarling, Evangeline.  No way hand appliqued baby quilts could hold up to the constant machine washing.  And time...hand applique does take lots of time and it seems the older I get, the more hectic my schedule becomes.

And by the way, have you seen the beautiful laser-cut applique pieces that have come out with the fusible backing already on them?  They have to be machine appliqued, but they are gorgeous and are such time savers!

So I decided that machine applique and I needed to get re-acquainted.

My guild's next Round Robin was coming up, so I picked out a pattern.

For those of you who are working through At Piece with Time, you know that Kristin Steiner and Diane Frankenberger number the applique pieces on the layout so the quilter knows the order the pieces are stitched.  Not all patterns do this.  Sometimes, as in the case of this scarecrow, you have to be able to look at it and decide for yourself which pieces go down first.

In any applique piece, you start from the background and work forward.  I also tend to think in groups of threes most of the time.  Look at the picture.  What is the item that is farthest in the background?

The hill.  And it goes down first.

We're going to start with prep work and go from there with this hill.

Besides picking your fabrics, the first item that needs to be decided upon is the fusible to be used.  There are lots of ones on the market and you just have to try them out and pick which one works best for you and your machine.  The second issue the quilter has to determine is if the pattern is reversed or not.  We've already dealt with this in an earlier blog.  Patterns that already have their applique pieces reversed will tell you so somewhere on the pattern.  If they're not reversed, you will need to go through the steps to reverse them (again, these are in an earlier blog).  I was lucky that my happy scarecrow fellow was reversed, so all I had to do was trace the pieces onto my fusible web.

And then construct my background block.  I did baste across the middle both length and width-wise to make sure I centered my design.

Fusibles are like anything else on the market.  Each has their own set of instructions and it's important that they be read and followed.  So fuse your first piece down according to instructions.

Lots of beginning appliquers get a little overwhelmed at this point.  Like any other types of applique, machine applique has several steps.  It's just important that they be taken one at a time and don't be in a rush.  However, if you think you can simply fuse the pieces and continue on without stitching them down someway, you're wrong.  There has to be some kind of stitching around the edges because the fusibles are meant to be a temporary hold, not a permanent one.  
It's also important to think in groups as you applique.  You don't fuse everything down and then stitch around everything.  Grouping helps you keep your stitches neat.  

Now comes the next decision -- do you use one color of thread around everything, change the color of thread to match the fabric, or use mono filament thread?

Using one color of thread (customarily black) around the entire design works well on a children's quilt because it can make simple shapes resemble drawings in a picture book or coloring book.  If feedsacks or 1930's reproduction fabrics are used, black works really well because it gives a quilt an "authentic" Depression Era look since black was often used to outline applique shapes during that time period.

Mono filament thread runs the gamete.  There are some really good kinds and some that are not so good.  If you're using a lot of different colors in an applique piece, mono filament is the easiest choice because you don't have to stop and keep changing thread to match the fabric color.  It is also nearly invisible, so the applique pieces appear to "float" on top of the fabric.  Regular cotton thread should be used in the bobbin.  Mono filament comes in clear and a dark  color to match darker fabrics.

This is my favorite brand of mono filament.  It doesn't break easily and plays nicely with a hot iron.  But again, like fusible webbing, each type comes with its own instructions.  Please follow them to get the best results.

Most of the time I choose to change my thread to match my fabric.  I'm not sure if this is because I made clothes well before I quilted and you have to change thread color often when constructing garments, or I just like the look, or if it's because since I did make clothes,  I have lots of colors of thread to chose from.  If you choose to do this, then you have to decide if you want the sleek look of a rayon-based thread or the homespun look of cotton.  Since my little guy is a country scarecrow, I picked cotton thread for this design.

Now with all these decisions made, we're still not quite ready to stitch yet.  A stabilizer is needed on the back of the fabric.  If the fabric doesn't have something on the back of it to allow it to glide over the feed dogs, it can catch and pucker.  And stablizers are like fusibles.  There are a lot of them on the market to pick from.  Some quilter even use foundation paper.  I've known some to use coffee filters.  It's a personal choice.  My favorite is this:

This stabilizer is primarily made for machine embroidery, but I think it's wonderful for machine applique.  It fuses to the back of the block and when you're done it tears away easily and what doesn't tear off can easily be spritzed off with water.   But again, stabilizers are like fusibles.  You have to find which works best for you and your machine.

Now the last decision needs to be made:  What kind of stitch will you use?  The usual applique stitch is a zig zag.  Usually have to shorten the stitch length of the zig and the zag and shorten the width.  The length and width is particular to each machine and the applique appearance you want.  I do use the zig zag stitch, but my favorite applique machine stitch is the blanket stitch.  Most sewing machines have one of these.

On my machine, I have several choices for this stitch 41 -- 50 actually.  My favorite is 45.  Either stitch you decide on, blanket or zig zag, it's important that the stitches are balanced and the bobbin thread doesn't pop to the top.  A correctly balanced stitch looks like this:

The horizontal part of this stitch needs to be snug against the outer edge of the applique piece so the vertical part of the stitch can "bite" into the applique.  Set your open-toe foot up with the needle flush against the outer edge of the applique piece.

The first stitch will fall along the outside edge of the green hill.  Then the needle will swing to the left and the stitch will fall inside the hill.

Speed is not your friend when you're appliqueing by machine.  You will lose control of the stitch and the fabric.  Start slow and find a medium speed you're comfortable with.  Slow down for curves.  In the next blog, we will deal with 90 degree angles.  Those are done a little differently.

That's what it should look like on the right side.  The stitches are there and blend with the hill instead of fighting against it.

This is the back.  Again, examine the tension of the stitches.  Nothing is pulling or puckered.  It's balanced and looks neat.

The next blog on machine applique will deal with 90 degree angles and grouping pieces.  This isn't difficult, but it is a bit different than needle turn.

Find a simple pattern and give it try!

Love and Stitches...

Sherri