Quilting Forum

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Latest Forum Posts

Collapse

  • Quilting Inspiration
    Yes, there will be some discussion on how Lynn’s were quilted and some suggestions for other ideas.
  • Quilting Inspiration
    This is my first BOM with the Quilt Show and I am thoroughly enjoying the process. At the beginning of Lynn Wilder's videos,...
  • I Need Input on Unique Laurel Ridge
    I've mostly finished my Laurel Ridge version, seen in photo. I'm trying to decide what to do with the extra space in the...
  • Entering BOM in quilt show
    Sue’s company is run by her daughters:

    https://www.comequilt.com/
  • MONTH 2 — Share Your Progress HERE
    I’m behind, but I finally got month 2 done. I was so afraid of doing the appliqué that I put it off, but it wasn’t...
  • Entering BOM in quilt show
    Hi, how do I contact the Sue Garman family to get permission to enter Stars for a New Day quilt in an AQS show?...
  • Dee's New York Beauty Choose Your Own Adventure
    congratulations, your quilt is lovely, where did they make the announcement?
  • Dee's New York Beauty Choose Your Own Adventure
    Better late than never, some of the blocks worked others I'm not so sure about but I enjoyed the process
  • Question on fabric choice
    It is Parchment Blue in the Autumn Kit. The photos are exactly the same on the Fabric Requirements page and the Monthly...
  • Question on fabric choice
    I have the autumn kit I can’t find cream with blue flower I have parchment but I don’t think that is it
  • Dee's New York Beauty Choose Your Own Adventure
    congrats. when did they announce it? Where can I see it?
  • MONTH 7 Blog is UP
    I cannot find Lynn's chapter 7 of her continuing story. HELP!!
  • My Finished Top
    Barb,
    I hadn't read the above comments. That is the same thing I was saying!
    No need to comment. You got i...
  • My Finished Top
    Barb there is one more error or maybe you wanted the diagonal to be different. On the right picture above at the bottom...
  • My Finished Top
    Thanks, Pat. I saw your post first on my blog. You are correct, those are turned wonky too. More in-sewing in my future....
  • My Finished Top
    3rd try. After this I give up. (I also posted on FB) In the upper left quadrant htere are 3 half-sq triangles units appearing...
  • My Finished Top
    (Also posted on FB) Hope I can get this to work. In the upper left quadrant I see 3 half-sq triangle units made of what...
  • My Finished Top
    I almost hate to ask. (Also posted on FB) In the upper left quadrant, there are 3 half-sq trianlge blocks appearing to be...
  • Loading...
  • No more items.

Trending Forum Posts

Collapse

  • Happy Dance! I won ribbons!
    Home from the Maine Quilts show where my Color my World quilt, rename ‘Home,’ received 3 ribbons. I’m overwhelmed...
  • What I learned
    Well, here it is, the end of 2022, and I finally have finished my 2021 BOM quilt! I apologize that the photo is not centered....
  • Late at this but having difficulty
    Hi There,

    I hope you can help me. I know I'm very late in getting to this point but life is finally allowing...
  • Adding house numbers
    I'm quite behind on my BOM, but now have all the tall buildings of the outer ring done. I would like to add some house...
  • Ahhhhh.. almost done! Have a question!!
    Hi all.. I am behind in my Color My World and just starting the skyscrapers... Does anyone have the finished size (with...
  • My Colorful World With Parks by Duffy
    My quilt is finish
  • Printing for paper piecing question
    For anyone paper piecing, is your quarter inch a tiny bit larger? When I’m trimming up the finished building, I line...
  • Paper piecing color my world…anyone else?
    I decided early to do paper piecing instead of the wax…I’m more comfortable . However, I have a few questions…anyone...
  • Video Access
    Will we have access to the Color My World videos after December 31st? I can't seem to find info on this.
  • New to The Quilt Show
    I am BRAND NEW to the Quilt Show and fell in love with this pattern. I downloaded all of the instructions. My concern is......
  • How to download pattern?
    I'm a new-ish star member and would like to download the "Color My World" pattern...but I can't find where to...
  • Quilting color my world
    See how I quilted Color My World and the added surprise quilting in Wendy’s border:

    https://bbquiltmaker.b...
  • Getting outer circle to lie flat
    Hello - I know someone has solved this problem...I seem to remember a question arising when we put the inner circle together...
  • Great new way to see all the photos!
    Cap'n John showed me a new feature--you can see all the photos posted on any particular topic--at once.

    Open...
  • Color My World Pattern - Download Heads Up
    I know Barbara has reminded us to download all files prior to the end of the year. I finished my downloads today and decided...
  • Color my world — your finish here
    Please use this topic to share your FINISHED top or quilt here. This will make it easy to see all the great quilts everyone...
  • Quilt is complete. Fun!
  • One World — This is Brilliant!
    Sunday Sew and Sews met today. Pam R. came up with a brilliant way to make One World—she used striped fabric!...
  • Loading...
  • No more items.

Designing Applique'

Collapse
X
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Designing Applique'

    Okay, I'm STUCK... biting off more than I can chew (as usual)... and need help.

    I'm working on Month 6 of the Sedona Star but I decided not to do the Hearts and Feathers that Sarah Vedeler designed (they just would not look quite right in my house). So, I decided to make my own design--Chinese good luck bats--to replace the Hearts and Feathers.

    I printed Sarah's template 1 in order to have the dimensions of the block. Then I adapted a Dover copyright-free design to my liking and enlarged it. I placed tracing paper over Sarah's template and traced it. Then I placed my design where I wanted it to go and traced that.

    Now, I have what I want on tracing paper. What do I do next? The design is on a piece of tracing paper 19"x24". The background of the applique needs to be paper-pieced to the border. I'm totally confused... you might be confused by my email :? :? :? Here is a picture of what I have on tracing paper (with a piece of plain white paper behind it for visibility):



    I need to get from concept to execution and I am lost :mrgreen: HELP! Can't believe, another fine mess I've gotten myself into... :lol: :lol: :lol:


    #2
    Hi Renata -

    I would piece the block before applying the applique. It would be really hard to place the applique correctly while paper-piecing if you did that first.

    The first thing you'll need to do with your applique is decide which pieces are on top of which. In your picture, I would do something like the bottom of the wings on the bottom, then the tops of the wings overlapping, then the body on top of the wings. You'll have to evaluate each piece in that way.

    The rest depends on your applique method. If you are doing raw-edge fusible, then you would trace the individual pieces on your fusible, including your overlaps. Remember to turn your pattern over when doing this part or your applique will be flipped in the end. Fuse the fusible on the wrong sides of your fabrics. With this motif, I would assemble the pieces on top of an applique pressing sheet with your pattern underneath the sheet. Iron the pieces together then place them in the appropriate spot on your block and iron on. Then sew around the edges.

    If you are using a different applique method, you'll need to modify the instructions appropriately.

    Does that help?

    Nancy

    Comment


      #3
      I see 7 pieces that will be for the applique section. Is that correct? I would transfer the 7 pieces onto freezer paper and if it were me and you didn't want to create an digitized machine embroidered design, I would put the freezer paper on Ricky's stable stuff, cut out and then glue baste the stable stuff to the fabric. Using Elmer's washaway glue stick, I would turn under the edges and then machine applique using a very tiny zig zag stitch to your background.

      Clear as mud?

      aka ladyquilter

      Troutdale, OR
      <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sweetpeaz.com/wordpress">http://www.sweetpeaz.com/wordpress</a><!-- m -->

      Comment


        #4
        Nancy's method sounds good too. Lots of ways to play. Have fun deciding!

        JoJo

        [quote="rehak"]Hi Renata -

        I would piece the block before applying the applique. It would be really hard to place the applique correctly while paper-piecing if you did that first.

        aka ladyquilter

        Troutdale, OR
        <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sweetpeaz.com/wordpress">http://www.sweetpeaz.com/wordpress</a><!-- m -->

        Comment


          #5
          Thank you, Nancy and JoJo, for your comments and suggestions. I totally agree with both of you, although I had never considered it, to do the paper-piecing first and then the applique'. I also realized, based on your comments, that my question was also not very clear. Sorry!

          Interesting that you should mention digitizing, JoJo! Initially, I had actually gone into my Bernina V6 software and digitized my design as an outline in order to do this as an applique' in the hoop. Where things got messy and I could not get out of my own predicament was in the satin stitch outline I was going to do around the pieces of applique'. If you look at the design, there are areas of outline that are pretty curls. The satin stitch would come to a blunt end at the end of the curl and I did not know how to taper it to make it look nice. I haven't given up on this process, I thought I was close, but it was not good enough. If you have any suggestions on how to make the curls end up pretty in the satin stitch outline, I would much appreciate it. In many commercial applique' embroidery designs, I've noticed that the decorative stitch used to tack down is also the only decorative stitch required. Where I'm confused is, do I do a zig-zag tackdown stitch to fix the applique and then create an embroidery design to go on top of that in order to get the curls or can my satin stitch embroidery tack down the applique' and veer off to make the curl and then return to continue tacking down the applique'?

          Since my first effort was at digitizing, in preparation for that I had figured out which applique' pieces would go underneath others. So in that respect, I think I am okay, Nancy. If I have to abandon digitizing altogether and do this the traditional way, I know that I would like to use freezer paper and turn the applique' under (sorry I had not mentioned that before in my confusion). So, my thought was to stitch down the applique' pieces with MonoPoly and an invisible applique' stitch so that later I can add to the outline of the design either a satin stitch or hand-embroider the outline so that I can deal with the curl issue in a way that I know how to do. So my question here is, is there a better way to go about this? Should I just be using a satin stitch to tack down the pieces applique' pieces? Am I making this too hard? I will have to repeat this process with nine blocks!

          Thank you, Nancy and JoJo for your quick responses and guiding me through this process. I promise to show you what I end up with. Why do I always have to learn with the hard stuff first? Hope my second note isn't more confusing than the first... ops:

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by rehak
            Hi Renata -

            I would piece the block before applying the applique. It would be really hard to place the applique correctly while paper-piecing if you did that first.

            Nancy
            Curiously enough, I was about to suggest that you applique the bat first on an oversized background, then you could slide it to fit into the middle of the paper piecing lines and then stitch the border pieces on. This would also avoid any problems of the stitching drawing in the fabric to slightly smaller.

            Isn't it great being a newbie and not knowing that you can't do something ,so you do it anyway! 8)

            Comment


              #7
              Hi Renata -

              I dont have an embroidery machine so I can't help you with any of that.

              If you end up doing it without the embroidery unit and decide to use a satin stitch, you could just satin stich directly without tacking the pieces down first. If you decide to tack first, which is reasonable, then I would use the same thread you plan on using for the satin stitch rather than bothering with monopoly. The satin stitch will just cover up your tacking stitch anyway. I believe that when embroidery machines do a tacking stitch before a satin stitch, you generally use the same thread. But that understanding would just be from seeing a few videos in different places, so I could be wrong....

              Good luck, and I do want to see the results! The applique design looks really cool!!

              Nancy

              Comment


                #8
                Well, Rosemary... I've made blocks lately for the Sedona Star 2012 BOM that have become my practice pieces for FMQ when they did not quite turn out as I wanted for the BOM... :lol: :lol: :lol: I still put my mistakes to good use in one way or another... but I am getting more and more confused... I get bored with the easy stuff so I start in over my head. Just so grateful you all are out there to bail me out!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by PosyP
                  Originally posted by rehak
                  Hi Renata -

                  I would piece the block before applying the applique. It would be really hard to place the applique correctly while paper-piecing if you did that first.

                  Nancy
                  Curiously enough, I was about to suggest that you applique the bat first on an oversized background, then you could slide it to fit into the middle of the paper piecing lines and then stitch the border pieces on. This would also avoid any problems of the stitching drawing in the fabric to slightly smaller.

                  Isn't it great being a newbie and not knowing that you can't do something ,so you do it anyway! 8)
                  Good points! As with everything, it will really depend on what makes the most sense to you and how you are doing other things. I haven't had much trouble with applique drawing in the fabric, but I never use a satin stitch and for my BOM I'm using Ricky's Stable Stuff and am leaving it in, so that would help to stabilize the applique.

                  Isn't it hard that there is never one right answer!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by rehak
                    Hi Renata -

                    If you end up doing it without the embroidery unit and decide to use a satin stitch, you could just satin stich directly without tacking the pieces down first. If you decide to tack first, which is reasonable, then I would use the same thread you plan on using for the satin stitch rather than bothering with monopoly. The satin stitch will just cover up your tacking stitch anyway. I believe that when embroidery machines do a tacking stitch before a satin stitch, you generally use the same thread. But that understanding would just be from seeing a few videos in different places, so I could be wrong....
                    Thanks, Nancy! I'm taking it all on board so I can sort through your suggestions and play and see what will work for me. Step-by-step...

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Just read your second post - whilst I have absolutely no experience of digitizing embroidery, I do know that to get a nice taper with satin stitch, instead of having the stitchs at right angles to the sides you need to angle them

                      Glad you have found ways of avoiding boredom :wink:

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Thanks, Rosemary! What program did you use to send that picture below? I like that! :P

                        Comment


                          #13
                          You are on your way to a successful digitizing experience so please don't stop now. Play some more and do some sample stitch outs on practice fabric.

                          I recommend that you digitize a running stitch placement line so that you know exactly where to place each piece of fabric. If you do not want to digitize a tack down stich in either a zig zag or an e-stitch, you can use a temporary spray adhesive. I do not recommend just laying the fabric down and having the satin stitch start because the fabric can shift very easily and then you will have registration issues and not be satisfied with your efforts.

                          You don't have to use a satin stitch everywhere. I would play with your fancy stiches in those curly areas and either use one of those or a triple stitch because they will just be for decorative purposes on the solid parts of the applique fabric.

                          Here's a very quick screen snapshot of me playing with your design. The green stitches is a placment stitch. I usually put this so that it fall just inside of the lines. That way if any applique fabric is not covering it, you will know that you need to reposition the fabric until all of the stitches are hidden underneath. The red area is a tackdown stitch which can be eliminated with spray adhesive. The blue area is the satin stitch with a triple stitch for the curly areas.

                          Hope that helps you keep going!

                          aka ladyquilter

                          Troutdale, OR
                          <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sweetpeaz.com/wordpress">http://www.sweetpeaz.com/wordpress</a><!-- m -->

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Renata
                            Thanks, Rosemary! What program did you use to send that picture below? I like that! :P
                            I drew it in xp Paint (I do have a drawing tablet though), saved it as a 'jpg' - you have to watch out for that, it's default save is 'bitmap' which doesn't upload (don't ask how I know ops: ) Put it somewhere you can find it again :wink: , and upload like any ordinary photo. Simples!

                            aka ladyquilter

                            Troutdale, OR
                            <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sweetpeaz.com/wordpress">http://www.sweetpeaz.com/wordpress</a><!-- m -->

                            Comment


                              #15
                              JoJo, thanks for your help. I feel like I was so close to what I wanted but not close enough to be successful. I would have never thought of adding a triple stitch for example or a fancy stitch, yet, as I was loading up some OESD Holiday designs to deconstruct what they did to achieve the effect I wanted, and it looks like they did exactly what you suggested. I kept thinking that I needed to use the reshape tool to move nodes to get the tapers and curl endings, but to no avail... So, I will go back in and try again. Your picture did not come through, so if you have a chance to reload it, it would be much appreciated. Thank you and since you can't see me, I have a little smile on my face and I feel like happy dancing a bit until I open up my V6 software again.

                              PS Why can't I just use Sarah Vedeler's design for this BOM???... :roll: (because I really don't want to?) I don't know whether this is stubborness or persistence... but I just can't give up!

                              Comment

                              What's Going On

                              Collapse

                              There are currently 28733 users online. 377 members and 28356 guests.

                              Most users ever online was 89,239 at 06:38 PM on 06-08-2025.

                              Forum Stats

                              Collapse

                              Topics: 8,332   Posts: 156,530   Members: 27627   Active Members: 1,131  
                              Welcome to our newest member, [email protected].

                              Latest Topics

                              Collapse

                              Trending

                              Collapse

                              There are no results that meet this criteria.

                              Working...
                              X