needle turning small pieces

[Judith T.]

I am in the process of needle turning little pieces and skinny letters onto a block. The pieces are too small to do properly so I was wondering if the quilt police will let me glue the pieces onto freezer paper which I used as templates and then hand stitch. Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks. Judy in AZ

[Judy M.]

Judy, I would enlarge the pieces enough to be able to needleturn them, unless that would compromise the block. Judy in Torrance

[Sharon E.]

Judy -- have you tried reverse applique? Sometimes that works better for small pieces. No I don't hear any sirens coming your way from the quilt police. lol:

[Judith T.]

Enlarging wouldn't work, sorry. But I could try reverse applique. Maybe it is in the fabric. The first block the fabric was more dense. The second block the fabric was more woven. I had a heck of a time with freying. These come in a BOM kit from the quilt shop and everyone else is machine appliqueing but I have to be different and Hand applique mine. This is the block I took with me back east in May. Maybe I should fuse it on Wonder Under instead of freezer paper and then glue it. I don't know. thanks for your input.
Judy in AZ where we finally had some rain when the monsoon came through

[Judith T.]

if the pieces are small and the fabric is fraying you do have a problem but you can get past it.

Tyy pushing your needle through a glue stick ( washable) and then using the gluey part of the needle to sweep the fabric under, then use your left thumb ( assuming you are right handed ) to press the applique piece down firmly. this will hold it in place Then use very very small stitches to sew the piece down.

It will work

I use the back basting way but if you are using straight on needleturn try not trimming your seam until you are ready to sew that part down. The less you handle the piece the less fraying. So trim the piece as you are needleturning. just do about 1/2 ahead and use the glue hint

Come on you can do it!!!

[Judith T.]

Thanks, Maureen, for your ideas. I was going to use glue in there somewhere.

[Judy M.]

I HATE to work with fabric that frays :shock: :? :cry: :!: I had that happen to me on an applique project several years ago. I was just hoping that the appliques hold over the years. The thing is, the fraying fabric costs the same as the others!!! These tips are really good and I'll have to try them. Good luck, Judy, on your project! Judy in Torrance

[Judy M.]

Sharon Schamber has a needleturn demo in her free area, and she showed what she does with tiny pieces. If you go to her free area, and click on part 3, about halfway through, you'll see it. It looks like it would work.

[Judith T.]

Thanks, Christi, I love to watch Sharon Schamber. She is one very talented lady.
Judy in T, it seems that woven fabric freys a lot. Some of the fabric in the BOM kit is woven, but I have changed out some of the fabric already. I didn't think this would frey but it did. I have to make these skinny quarter inch letters in different fabric and after all of these ideas, hopefully something should work. Judy in AZ

[Judith T.]

I have spent the greater part of the morning trying to get on the Sharon Schamber network with my Mac. I brought up the network but couldn't scroll down to access the free video section so I ended up emailing the network for advice. They told me to use Firefox as my browser. So I downloaded Firefox and was able to watch the videos properly. Apparently there is a glitch in the apple software. Anyway, I learned how to do the little pieces with foundation paper and Elmer's glue. Sharon makes it all look so easy. Judy in AZ

[Judith T.]

She's a very good teacher, isn't she?

Pat in Rockport, TX

[Judith T.]

I've started an applique project and would like to learn more, does anyone have a link to sharon schumbur site? Thanks, Sandi in hot FL

[Judith T.]

Try sharonschambernetwork.com and you should see the Navigation and see the free area click that and click on the bluebird. She will needle turn that. I don't know about machine applique but that is probably there , too. Good luck. If you have a Mac then you will have to use Firefox as your browser. Judy in AZ

[Judith T.]

What type of "foundation" is she using for her technique? What a great idea!
I am just starting to make "My Cat's Garden" quilt which has 9 very intricate blocks of cats and orchids and I know this technique will really make it less painful!
I just need to get some of that foundation stuff.

[Judith T.]

What type of "foundation" is she using for her technique? What a great idea!
I am just starting to make "My Cat's Garden" quilt which has 9 very intricate blocks of cats and orchids and I know this technique will really make it less painful!
I just need to get some of that foundation stuff.