Appliqué Techniques
Hey ghouls and creeps! In this week’s tips and tricks post, I review three appliqué techniques that I use consistently when I sew! These techniques include raw edge appliqué, interfacing appliqué and reverse appliqué. I’ll be constructing swatch samples demonstrating each! Let’s get started!
Technique 1: Raw Edge Appliqué: Begin by tracing your appliqué outline on the paper side of your Heat n’ Bond iron-on adhesive.
Then iron your Heat n’ Bond tracing to the wrong side of your appliqué fabric(s). Cut your appliqué out along the traced line. Repeat these steps for each appliqué piece. Once you’ve finished cutting out your pieces, peel the paper backing off each piece.
With the adhesive side down, place your appliqués on the right side of your material and press. Pro-tip: Set your iron to the cotton setting for the perfect bond! After the pieces are fused edge stitch close to the raw edge of each piece. You can do this with a straight stitch, satin stitch, or blanket stitch!
Technique 2: Interfacing Appliqué: Begin by tracing your appliqué outline on the wrong side of your appliqué material.
Ideally, you’ll want to sew completely around your appliqué pieces so that they have all raw edges concealed. However, due to the detail and shape of the jack o’ lantern, I had to do a combination of the interfacing and raw edge techniques. I’ll provide pictures of both methods! *Images on the right in the next two steps are the method that produced the sample photographed!
Using a ruler, add 1/4″ seam allowance to the perimeter of where your stitch line will be.
Place the adhesive side of your interfacing and the right side of your appliqué material(s) together. Cut both material and interfacing along the seam allowance line.
Stitch all the way around the appliqué along your traced line. Snip notches into the seam allowance for smooth curves after turning.
Carefully snip an “X” in just the interfacing layer. Flip your appliqué piece right side out, concealing your raw edges. Gently poke out all the edges of the appliqué making sure not to tear the interfacing. If you’re doing the “half” interfacing method, simply turn your piece right side out!
Repeat these steps until all appliqué pieces are complete. Place the appliqué pieces on your material interfacing side down and press.
Straight stitch along the appliqué edges to secure the bond.
Technique 3: Reverse Appliqué: If you have one material you’ll be using for the applique, iron Heat n’ Bond to the wrong side of your background material. Take your appliqué templates and trace them on the paper side of the Heat n’ Bond. Using little snips carefully trim out the tracing along the outlines.
Since all the pieces of my appliqué are the same material, I simply cut a square big enough from my appliqué material to cover all the openings. I then adhered the right side of my appliqué material to the wrong side of the background fabric, making sure to cover all openings.
If your applique requires different materials, trace the appliqué templates to the wrong side of each corresponding fabric. Measure 1/4” from the traced lines and mark, this will be your cutting line. Cut your appliqué fabric along the second traced line. Apply fabric glue to the wrong side of your background material on the edge of each opening. Align and press each corresponding appliqué piece to cover each opening in the background fabric.
Once each background opening is covered, flip your material right side up and edge stitch around each appliqué edge. You can do this with a straight stitch, satin stitch, or blanket stitch!
I hope you enjoyed these appliqué techniques and found the information helpful! As always, feel free to mention your favorite appliqué application methods below in the comments! I love to hear about new techniques I may have not heard of, or how you have used the tips provided in the post!
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Ready for your next project? Here are some tutorials on the blog I think you’ll like! Frame Flip tutorial: https://britnijade.com/frame-flip/, Macrame Wall Hanging: https://britnijade.com/macrame-wall-hanging-w-bones/, or the Spider Web Macrame: https://britnijade.com/spider-web-macrame/. Enjoy!
