Do you cut the fabric away behind the applique?

[Dawn S.]

I have finally learned to love applique after learning the Judy Niemeyer technique, and have gone on to develop my own technique. My question is, do you always cut the fabric away from behind the applique. When I asked Judy if she does for her quilts, the answer was "No," and I am comfortable not doing so with my quilts. But, I am working on a block that will be sent on to another person, who will do her part, then send it on again. (I will not be the owner.) So, do I or don't I?

Dawn
In (raining AGAIN!) beautiful Northwest Montana

[Hannelore N.]

Dawn, if you are happy with the way your appliqué looks and feels, and the new owner should be happy with it too.

I normally don't cut away the fabric behind the shapes. I have only done it once, because there were four layers of appliqué on top of each other and I thought that it looked and felt a little too bulky.

[Margo C.]

Lorchen read my mind! Good answer!

[Robin G.]

Hi Dawn, I think a lot of the answer has to do with the final use of the piece. I used to be a strong believer in not cutting away behind applique ... until I took Suzanne Marshall's class at Asilomar. Her rationale for cutting away has to do with creating fewer layers to quilt through if you are hand quilting. She also is careful to align the grain lines in the background fabric and the applique pieces because that way, they stretch in the same directions. She does say if you're machine quilting, then it doesn't matter so much about cutting away, unless you want the applique piece to puff up more, in which case, you cut away so that the batting will fill that space. Since you're going to be sending this particular piece on, it probably makes sense not to cut away, though, because it will have a lot of handling.

[Hannelore N.]

Some quilters alighn the grain lines of the background and the appliqué fabric?? ...... I have never even thought of that. Does that make me a 'sloppy' quilter? So far judges comments have not come back saying 'Should have aligned grain lines'. Mmmmhhhh....... I'll have to try this next time I do some appliqué. But I may go back to ignoring it, because I have the feeling that watching out for those grains will actually lead to a much less economic use of the fabric.

"To grain line or not to grain line'.... what do you do these days, Robin??

[Dawn S.]

Oh, Lorchen, you are so-o-o funny! Robin, I can maybe see aligning batiks, as they have a tight weave, but regular quilting cottons - that just doesn't seem neccessary! I doubt I will ever align my applique to my background (or ever hand quilt one, for that matter!) as that perfect piece will probably be on the diagonal, and just one more thing to worry about. I probably will not cut away the back, as the last person to receive it can make that desicion before quilting it. Not being very experienced at applique, I was just wondering if there was a RULE. You know, like will the quilt police get me if I don't. Thank you all for your comments! You are a great group of ladies!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Betty J.]

Lorchen has it right...I only cut away the fabric when it gets a lot of layers or if it's a large applique piece that would look better without the fabric behind it. Sometimes even if there are several layers, I don't cut away the fabric behind because the pieces are too complex around the edges.

As far as aligning the grains...I guess i just do that most of the time because I was a garment sewer for many years before I got into quilting and it just seems natural. I think small applique can make almost no difference in the way a quilt hangs. Large applique could, though. But grainline can make a difference in how the color reads in some fabrics even if it's so subtle you might not call it a "nap".

Cheers,

BJ

[Hannelore N.]

Betty Jo, I'm glad you mentioned 'nap', because appliqué is great for using a variety of fabrics, like velvets, silks, linens, etc. , and then the grain line suddenly becomes important. But you may design not to actually align with the background fabric. I'm thinking flower petals or leaves, for example. If you would cut those from, let's say, silk it could be important to have the grain line be the same for all petals, no matter where on the background fabric they go.

So many options..... so much fun!!

[Margo C.]

As for cutting away to reduce the bulk, if I feel it's necessary to cut away something, I'll try to do it in one of the middle layers of the appliqué instead of cutting away the background fabric. If something were to come unstitched, it would be easier to replace a sewn on piece than repair a hole in the background!

Also, if I see that there is shadowing (where a dark piece of fabric shows through a lighter piece on top of it), I will usually opt to insert a lining fabric rather than cut away the darker bottom piece. Yes, it adds even more bulk, but using something like Ricky Tims' Stable Stuff for the lining is a great compromise! It reduces the shadowing and doesn't add a lot of bulk.

[Dawn S.]

Thank you Margo!!! That is exactly why I have had a hard time with the theory (learned a long time ago) that you cut away anything from "behind." I think it can compromise the strength of the piece somewhere down through time. And, I agree with placing another layer in there if shadowing is going on. I have even done that with pieced work.

Here's another thought on the "aligning." Just as Margo tents to "think big," I tend to think small. I'm thinking "Why would I worry about grain line on my small pieces, say 1" to 2"? Then I got ot thinking about, say, a Rhapsody quilt, or Hawaiian quilt, with VERY large applique pieces. As Sewdreamy said, it would then be "natural" for me to cut everything on the same directional grain. And, she brought up a good point about color reading differently depending on which way the grain was cut. Case in point: I have a "Bird of Paradise" (Judy Niemeyer) all cut out and half sewn. The background is a black batik. When turning the pieces for proper placement in the quilt, the color lightens or darkens, depending on the direction of the "nap." Drives me crazy! I'm just hoping the quilting will even out the "lights" and "darks."

Robin, I forgot to mention that Suzanne Marshell is one of my favorites. How fortunate that you were able to take a class from her! My favorite quilt of hers is her Pennsylvania Dutch "Anniversary 1991."

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Betty J.]

Oh, I hadn't thought of using Ricky's Stable Stuff to prevent show through...I think, Margo, that you've just solved one of my applique quandries. And as to the "nap"...it's so much fun to play with, especially using silks and velvets. Hmmm....sounds like so much fun I think I'll put some silk and velvet flowers on a black vest. Cheers, BJ

[Judy B.]

I have done very little applique, so should not be commenting on this post; however, I seem to remember an instructor saying that needle-turn applique is easier if the grain
of your applique matches the fabric you're attaching it to. Does that ring any bells for anyone?

[Margo C.]

I have done very little applique, so should not be commenting on this post; however, I seem to remember an instructor saying that needle-turn applique is easier if the grain
of your applique matches the fabric you're attaching it to. Does that ring any bells for anyone?

Judy I do a LOT of needle turn applique, and I find that turning the edges under is easiest on a bias edge, so I position my appliqué shapes on the bias whenever possible. For instance on a simple leaf shape, the center of the leaf would be on the true bias. It doesn't matter which way the grain of the background is running, because the leaf shape may need to go in 100 different directions depending on the pattern.

[Margo C.]

Oh, I hadn't thought of using Ricky's Stable Stuff to prevent show through...I think, Margo, that you've just solved one of my applique quandries. And as to the "nap"...it's so much fun to play with, especially using silks and velvets. Hmmm....sounds like so much fun I think I'll put some silk and velvet flowers on a black vest. Cheers, BJ

BJ, Pati in the TQS Shoppe sometimes has Stable Stuff by the yard. She used to just have in in the 8-1/2" x 11" pre-cut sheets to run through a printer, but I prefer to buy it off the bolt because there is much less waste for me than the smaller sheets. You may have to send her a note (through the "CONTACT US" link under "DAILY BLOG" on the purple bar) Here is the link for the pre-cut sheets: https://www.thequiltshowshoppe.com/?a=VP&id=281

Also, I really like Sharon Schamber's technique for using Elmer's washable glue sticks to prepare shapes for appliqué, either by hand or machine.
Here is a link to one of her YouTube videos:
http://www.sharonschambernetwork.com...Blue-Bird.aspx

This is how I use Ricky's Stable Stuff!!

EDITED: Here is the link for the yardage: https://www.thequiltshowshoppe.com/?a=VP&id=376

[Eileen K.]

I have Karen Kay Buckley's dvd on applique. She prepares her pieces with spray starch. Not once does she mention aligning the applique with the background. I've taken classes with Pat Campbell and Becky Goldsmith and neither of did either. I've always thought that since all of my applique pieces are on the bias, they'd stretch anyway. :?