Applique, Fabric Pulls, and Layout Boards…

In this blog – and maybe the next one, too – I’d like to discuss applique patterns, effective fabric pulls, and layout boards.  I love applique.  I love the look of applique quilts and the process of making them.  I’m equally enamored with both machine and hand applique.  To me, applique is more forgiving than piecing and allows for greater interpretation of a design. 

First, let’s look at what makes a good applique pattern.  I realize opinions may differ, but I think the list below is a pretty solid place to start. 

1.  The design elements are clear.  This means the lines which define the flowers or birds or whatever it is you want to applique are clear and dark-ish.  If parts of the pattern overlap (such as a leaf over a stem), both the leaf and the stem can be clearly seen.  This is important because you want to see what parts of a design you can eliminate in order to reduce bulk.  The design also should be dark enough you can see it through fabric or fusible webbing when it’s on a light box.  If it’s not, you can use a fine or extra-fine tipped Sharpie to carefully trace over the design to enable you to see it better. 

• It’s marked and numbered for layout.  I’ll be honest, I’ve appliqued for almost forty years and this one is kind of hit and miss, depending on the designer.  Yes, a pattern doesn’t have to have to have either, but it does make your life easier, especially if your new to the process.  It’s helpful to have the center of the pattern marked, or at least have the measurements so you can find the center. 

It’s also extremely advantageous to have the pattern numbered – have numbers on the pattern elements so you know in what order to sew the pieces to the background.  Simple patterns, such as Sunbonnet Sue, may number the entire pattern. 

More complicated patterns may number in “clusters.” For instance, if you have roses, tulips, and daisies in a pattern, the designer may number the rose pattern pieces separate from the tulips and daises. 

•  It gives a difficulty level.  Honestly, this is something I wish all patterns did – tell us if it’s a beginner, intermediate, or advanced.  It’s really super helpful to know.  While a quilter with several years of experience behind them can easily tackle a beginner or intermediate pattern, a beginner appliquer may have some problems with any advanced levels.  However, if the pattern isn’t labeled, how do any of us know what proficiency levels are needed?  I can give you a rule of thumb – if you find a pattern you like, see if you can look at the layout sheet or zoom in closely on the picture of the pattern.  If there are a lot of pieces and a good deal of them are seriously small, chances are it’s an advanced pattern. 

•  The pattern states if the pieces are reversed or not.  Needle turn, back basting, traditional freezer paper, Apliquick, and machine applique using fusible web all need the pattern pieces reversed (mirror imaged).  If you’re employing the freezer paper on top method, the images don’t need to be reversed. 

Now let’s think about something a little different concerning applique patterns.  Let’s say the occasion has arisen where you can’t find an applique pattern you like for a quilt.  Or perhaps you’ve made a quilt and would like to use some applique in the borders or in some of the larger, pieced blocks to help pull the quilt together.  But the pattern didn’t come with applique options.  What do you do?

You can make your own applique pattern.  It’s no harder than designing a pieced block.  In past blogs I’ve talked about creating your own pieced block.  All you need is some graph paper or a quilting design software program and some simple math.  Designing an applique block doesn’t exactly require a lot of math, but you do need an eye for spacing and proportion.  And there are a few things to keep in mind.

•  Don’t crowd your design.  Allow some background fabric to show through.  You want it to breathe. And remember to keep the applique pieces at least 1/4-inch away from the edge of the block so it won’t get caught in the seam allowance.

•  It’s a lot easier to design an applique pattern if it’s symmetrical.   This means you could draw a line down the center of your pattern and the sides mirror each other. While certainly not all applique patterns are symmetrical, this is an easier design than an asymmetrical one.  You simply come up with half the design, then flip it to form the other half.

•  Can’t draw?  No worries.  While I do think working with applique does help you to draw better, if you have serious doubts about your artistic ability, don’t sweat it.  Google has some great black and white line drawings as well as coloring pages for the kiddos.  If you need something simple, coloring books or pages are a great place to start.  They have simple designs, few pieces, and the pieces tend to lean towards the large-ish end of the spectrum, making them easier to manipulate under a needle.  If you have Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8), it has lots of applique pieces to choose from. 

As long as you’re making the quilt for yourself or giving it away or there are no plans to raffle it off or sell it, you’re good to go using coloring book pages.  Otherwise, be sure to check the copyright on the coloring book or Google image. 

•  You may find a card, picture, or illustration you would like to reproduce in applique.  This can happen, especially if you have young kiddos in your life who gift you with awesome works of art that deserve so much more than just a place on your refrigerator.  My brother gifted me with a super nice Mother’s Day card this year.  It was an e-card, which meant I could enlarge the beautiful picture before I sent it to the printer. 

There are several ways to go about transferring an image into an applique pattern.  There’s software and phone apps and lots of other tools.  I want to give you the simple, low-tech, low-cost version.  If you find you enjoy this and want to up your game to more complicated pictures, you may want to think about some software programs, especially if you want to applique portraits of pets or people.

I make a few copies of whatever it is I want to applique (just in case I really mess up and need a fresh copy). 

Then, with a pencil I outline the basic shapes.  I don’t outline tiny details (such as flower stamins or veins in the leaves or petals), as they can be added with embroidery, ink, or paint.  I do this by pencil first, so if I change my mind about something, I can erase it. 

After I’m happy with my decisions, I trace over the pencil marks with a fine-tipped Sharpie.  Then I place another sheet of white paper on top of the copy and trace the Sharpie lines.  A light box comes in handy with this step.

After this step is complete, I take the Sharpie copy and put it on the light box.  Then I trace each individual piece of applique.  I can cut this copy apart and use it as templates or leave it as is and trace the pieces from the front (if no mirror image is needed) or from the back (if mirrored images are needed) onto freezer paper or Appliquik interfacing. 

•  If you find yourself using lots of “spontaneous” applique, you may want to develop some “stock” applique pieces.  Applique is a great way to pull your quilt together and up your borders game.  Leftover fabric can be used for flowers, fruit – almost anything – and these pieces can be appliqued on a border along with a vine and some leaves or as individual pieces.  If you find yourself trending towards this design decision, you may want to zero in on some favorite images and keep those set aside as templates.  If you find yourself using the same applique motifs a lot, you may want to make the templates out of Mylar or something equally as long lasting, so you won’t have to redraw them every time you want to use them.

How to Effectively Choose Fabric for Your Applique Design

I’ll be the first to admit there are literally libraries of books about color theory.  Seriously.  There are even entire semester-long classes based on color theory.  There are YouTube videos and lectures and well, you name it, Color Theory probably has it.  With all this information, you may be thinking, “Is choosing the right colors for my applique design really that difficult?”

No.  Not at all.  As a matter of fact, set aside any fears you may have and go take a look out the window.  Do you think Mother Nature had any qualms at all when she mixed shades of green, brown, purple, blue, yellow, and black together and threw it in the great outdoors? 

No, she did not.  She riotously picked whatever appealed to her, used it, and then gave us the sense to love it.  That’s why none of us squint when we see a yellow and black bumblebee buzzing a red rose next to a brown fence.  It all works together. 

Applique quilts have the freedom to work a bit differently than pieced quilts.  With pieced quilts there is a need to have a neutral, lights, at least one dark, a focus fabric, and some mediums to balance the quilt.  Applique is less restricted. A background fabric is necessary, and it is good to have a dark involved somewhere.  But other than those two, the applique fabric can run the gamut.  It can carry all the colors of a flower garden or limit itself to the yellow and white of a Gerber daisy.  And you don’t necessarily have to limit yourself to quilting cottons.  I’ve used gold lame’ for angel haloes and tulle/netting for fairy wings.  Specialty fabrics have to be handled a bit differently than cotton fabric, but their effect really adds some zing to a quilt. 

With all this in mind, where do you start?  If you’re new to applique, I suggest a pre-cut bundle of fabric in colors you like.  A fat-quarter bundle is a good place to begin.  Find a bundle you like and then open it up.  You may decide to add additional fabric to use with the fat quarters.  This can come from your stash or the location where you purchased the fat-quarter bundle.  A pre-cut bundle is usually part of a fabric “family” and you can find additional “fabric family members” which will work with the bundle either on line or in your local quilt store. 

Batiks are also good starting places.  The colors undulate across the batiks, which will give your applique pieces depth.  This is especially good for leaves and stems, as they’re not the same shade of green throughout.  Batiks are usually always my “go-to” fabrics for machine raw-edge applique because they have a firm weave and don’t fray easily.  They can also be used for hand applique, but I wash them in hot water first.  This process removes some of the finishes which make them difficult to needle. 

Ombres are awesome fabrics to use, too.  The colors can vary across the 45-inch width of fabric, giving you lots of variety for flower petals, fruit, vines, leaves, boats, and feathers. 

If your stash or fabric favorites tend to lean towards print fabric, don’t worry.  Applique quilts such as this:

Were made from small, printed calicoes.

And while solid fabrics aren’t my personal choice for applique, don’t rule them out.  Marie Webster rocked the applique world with pastel solids.

In short, the sky is the limit as far as applique fabric goes. Don’t worry about color theory.  Honestly, in my humble opinion, a great deal of color theory comes naturally to us.   However, do keep the following in mind as you pick your fabric.

•  If you’re mixing applique with a pieced quilt, such as this one:

You may want to pick your applique colors from the focus fabric.  It will make your quilt looked “pulled together.” Additional hint — piece the blocks prior to adding the applique. It’s just easier to center it.

•  Loosely woven fabrics can be used, but they can be a pain in the neck.  Generally stretchy or easy-to-fray fabrics need to be treated with an iron-on stabilizer.  If you’re hand appliqueing, cut the stabilizer pieces about ¼-inch (or less) smaller than the applique piece and press it on to the wrong side of the fabric, then stitch as normal.  If the stabilizer is super light, such as Pellon Soft and Stay, you may be able to cut the stabilizer piece the same size as the applique and still turn the edges under with relative ease.  For raw-edge machine applique, you can stabilize the entire piece. 

•  If using batiks and you know the quilt will be washed, make sure the batiks won’t run.  For more information on that, go here: https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2017/09/01/to-prewash-or-not-to-prewash-thats-the-question/

Overall, be fearless in your color selection.  Once you’ve chosen your fabrics, you may want to leave them out for a day or so and then return to them.  If you’re still happy with your choices, dive in and start appliqueing.

Once I’ve chosen my fabrics, I have to remind myself of a cold, hard fact:  I am now in my sixties.  I have very clear intentions of remembering what color goes to each applique piece.  I honestly think I can recall every detail, but in reality, I can (and probably will) forget, especially if I must set aside my project for a while.  This is why I make a color chart like this:

I cut a swatch of fabric out, glue it to a piece of paper or cardboard (if I have a lot of swatches, a file folder is perfect), and give it a number.  Then I add the placement of the fabric beneath the swatch (leaves, red rose, etc.).  Once this is complete, I take the applique pattern layout sheet and add the fabric number to each applique piece.  If the pattern is numbered for placement, I make sure to use a different colored pen or pencil for the fabric numbers, so I don’t get the two confused. 

I know not every quilter likes applique although I don’t understand why but I do hope this blog gives you a few ideas to at least try it.  And if you do enjoy applique, I hope this helps you branch out and try your own patterns. 

Until next week, From My Studio to Yours,

Sherri and Felix