A New Way To Applique
by Steve Tippets on 04/13/18I loved this week, but it also caused me a bit of frustration.
My project was one of the three blocks for the BOM club. It was the one I was the most nervous about because it utilizes applique which I'm not very good at, but it was also the one I was the most excited about because I wanted to watch the tutorial video and learn a better way to do it.
The technique used for this particular block is turned under applique. You use a foundation fabric for paper piecing and then glue the edges of each piece down and around the edges. It makes for a cleaner finish with your applique pieces.
This is the pre-cut pieces, before they were glued down around the edges.
These are the finished ones. They look so clean and pretty.
The preparation stage was really fun, but the actual applique part has been a bit of a struggle. I've been using the invisible thread, though at this point I can't remember its technical name. I know some people have problems with this particular thread and now I know why.
I was able to feed it through the machine well enough the first time, but it snapped after a few minutes. I have yet to be able to get it fed through the machine again. I'm trying not to be frustrated because that never helps, but it's hard not to be.
This is what I've accomplished so far. You can sort of see the stitches down the grey leaf that's on the left.
If I can't get the machine threaded after a few more attempts I may give up and just hand stitch it. If I were to do that it might cause me to unpick all of the stitching I've already done so that they actually match, but there is a small chance I can mimic the look of the machine stitches. I suppose I won't know for sure until I try. I'm hoping I'll have a finished block by next week, but we'll see.
Do any of you lovely quilters have any advice for using the invisible thread? I could really use some tips.
Comments (0)
