This is seriously a wonderful hand applique tutorial!!
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Freezer Paper: If you live in my area… you can find this in the grocery store -the isle with aluminum foil, saran wrap, and sandwich bags.
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Pencil: I prefer a mechanical pencil because it always has a sharp point.
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Scissors: Paper and fabric scissors.
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Pattern: It’s up to you. I am using my “OLD MacDONALD” pattern.
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Pins: Preferably applique pins, they are really short pins, sequin pins work well too.
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Needles: I prefer Bohin Appliquer Long needles, size 9 or 10.
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Thread: Use coordinating thread. It tends to hide your stitches better if matched with your fabric.
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Fabric: This one is a given right?
How to Applique by Hand
I start with a big piece of freezer paper. Freezer paper has a shiny side and a dull side. The shiny side is the side that sticks to your fabric. On the dull side of the paper, draw out your entire design. (Do not reverse…or add seam allowances on this step. This drawing should be the finished size of the pieces you want to applique.)Make sure you label the pieces if they are appliqued in a certain order, as most of my patterns are.
Next, cut out the whole image in one piece. This picture has an example of the cut out cow with all the pieces labeled and details drawn on. This piece will become a guide for placement, as well as the pattern pieces. Iron your piece onto the background fabric in the exact place you want the finished piece to be.
In this picture, I have also ironed my grass pieces to the right side of the green fabric allowing for a 1/4″ seam allowance to be cut around them.
All of the applique is ironed to the right side of your fabric.
Note: I always cut out my backgrounds an inch or so bigger so that I can trim to size when I have finished. If you are following one of my patterns, that little extra measurement is included in the cutting instructions, no need to cut bigger.
Cut out your appliques 1/4″ bigger than your freezer paper pattern. Allow a very generous seam allowance on the bottom of your grass….or anything that will go to the edge of your piece. I do this to make sure nothing is too short should I need to trim more off the top than the bottom.
When appliquing straight lines, I find this technique helpful.
This will prepare your piece so that it follows the line of the paper. You are turning under the seam allowance to match the freezer paper pattern.
Onto placement… Use the pattern to guesstimate your grass position. You may tape your pattern to a window, or use a light box to place your piece exactly if you wish, but for this project, I was happy with a guesstimate.
Start sewing at the dot, not at the fabric edge. You don’t want to risk cutting your threads when trimming your piece. This picture is a good example of why you have the generous seam allowance to match the fabric edge. When you trim, the extra sometimes comes in very handy!
This piece is somewhat prepared, so the stitch is self explanatory. Try to grab the fabric as close to where the thread comes out as possible. A straight stitch will pull the fabric under just enough to hide the stitch, a slanted stitch will be more visible, and pull your fabric in the direction of the slant.
This is the needle turn method I use most often on my pieces. With the tip of your needle, grab the top of the seam allowance. With a downward motion, pull the seam allowance under to match your freezer paper edge. Use your index finger and your thumb to pinch the fabric keeping it in place until you stitch it down.
Keep working with your fabric in this fashion until it exactly matches your paper pattern. Then sew it down. Be mindful of your stitch keeping it as straight as you can, don’t slant your thread.
No more pulling, cutting, wetting….and all that other stuff the other methods require! Just pull it off and you are finished!
When adding additional pieces, especially those lying under others, I use the bigger piece to place it. The freezer paper will keep sticking over and over again… up to about 10 times, sometimes more if you push it! Use this to your advantage and iron your pieces into place.
For most of my projects, I cut out the entire piece as a whole and iron it into place. After which I cut out the pieces in order and use the big piece like a puzzle to place the pieces back when they are prepared.
I use the iron a lot in the placement process. Lifting away and positioning a piece, then ironing the larger piece back down .
I use a basting stitch in the seam allowance of the sides that I am not turning under to keep them from shifting while appliqueing pieces on top of it.
As you go, it is helpful to make these little tick marks so that you can line up your paper pattern with the finished edges of your applique.
I use this puzzle like technique to applique my little characters and objects to my quilts. I find this is the easiest method for me. I draw my embroidery lines on the paper pattern as well. After I am finished will the applique, I cut out these lines, iron it back onto my applique, and trace within the cutout to mark my embroidery lines. You might also love…..
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Jen
12 March
Wow, that is a fantastic tutorial. I never wanted to try hand applique before now.
whosies
14 March
I have never tried this method, but I amazed at it's simplicity and it is really do-able. share it if you do try it out.
whosies
14 March
I have never tried this method, but I amazed at it's simplicity and it is really do-able. share it if you do try it out.
Patchwork Round Robin Border #3 « patchwork crafts, quilt patterns for beginners, tutorials, free patterns
22 March
[…] if you would like to give it a try here is a great tutorial on applique by […]
Over the Weekend…… « patchwork crafts, quilt patterns for beginners, tutorials, free patterns
16 August
[…] for the Block of the Month- the memory tree- for the patchworkposse.com group. Using this method from 1 of the designers- Chitter Chatter- It totally works […]
pamela gray
24 August
I really found your instructions easy to follow. Thanks for making these avaliable to all
Johnnie Tate
16 October
I can not wait to try this method. All others I have seen seem to complicated. Thank you for the free Tutorial.
Susi
16 December
Es un tutorial maravilloso. Así es mucho más fácil hacer un aplique. Ya fui a mi supermercado y no encontré el papel, paro seguiré buscándolo.
Estuve mirando otros tutorialers y son todos fantásticos.
Saludos
Susi
Applique | The Modern Quilter
21 December
[…] Hand Applique […]
Vievie
24 December
thanks a lot for the great tutorial. After saw your tute, I immediately sat down and tried it and it’s so so much easier..:) will post mine later..:)
Sheila
9 April
I LOVE LOVE this….
I can see this working well with painting patterns that i want to convert to appliqué…
can I see a pic of the finished cow?
how do you do the parts like the hoofs that go on top of the other bits?
I wanna start this right away!!!!
Thanx
posse boss
10 April
sheila– you will have to hop over to cori’s blog and ask her. i imagine they are all done with the same technique, but really don’t know for sure. good luck!
Yvette Shaw
15 May
Great tutorial! How would you prepare tiny free standing pieces?
posse boss
16 May
yvette— i am not quite sure. i think i would just use a dab of glue to keep them in place. maybe they would be too small for this method. you can ask cori– chitter chatter designs. she might have a better idea than i.
Anderson’s quilt « One English Teacher
13 February
[…] to pull the freezer paper out from inside some of the letters after they were sewed down. I found this helpful tutorial that showed me how to put the freezer paper on the outside of the letters. I think if I were doing […]
Jessica
13 February
Thanks for posting this tutorial; it was a big help as I worked on a quilt for a friend’s baby.
Carina
22 June
Great tutorial, thanks. Will try but with something much simpler and more straight lines, ;). Best wishes, Carina
Liz
11 August
Minor correction: It’s “voilà”, not “walla.”
“Walla” is not an English word.
Becky
11 August
hey Liz. thanks for the heads up. I think it’s a Utah thing. Walla. lol we make up words all the time…miss pronounce words and drop the t all the time. 🙂
On The Go Quilting » Friday Finds April 18
17 April
[…] applique more to your liking? HERE is a great tutorial on hand […]
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[…] a few extra tutorials to show you the different techniques for applique– Here is a How to hand applique tutorial, applique one layer or more, using fusible web, and here is all the applique posts on the […]
All About Applique |
9 June
[…] 2) Needle turn applique. This one is for the patient sewer. You do need to pay attention to the template if you are using this method. Remember to cut your fabric 1/4″ larger than the template itself to allow the edges to be turned under and then sewn. This method gives the applique a little more 3-d look as it stands out from the background fabric. There is no fray because the edges are hidden underneath the applique. There is a bit of trial and error with this, and takes some practice to get the hang or rhythm of the stitching. In the end the finished applique is stunning and very ‘finished’ looking. Worth every minute of learning it. Check out how to use freezer paper for your applique here. […]
Susan
20 March
Just a note – it’s “voila” not “walla”
Pauline
15 May
Thanks so much for this tutorial – I am about to start a special applique quilt and have been trying to decide which of the many methods to use – I like your method the best and I feel quite relieved to have learned how to do it.
PS Don’t worry about the person who needed to tell you how to spell voila! Honestly!
Pauline