Embroidery Basics Articles

10/28/2016 Pointers for Appliqué
You’ve just created a “sandwich” consisting of the printed die line on top, appliqué
fabric in the middle and heat seal on the bottom. Cut out the shape of your
appliqué, then discard the printed paper you used as a template.
Hoop the item to which the appliqué will be applied, along with a backing that is
appropriate for the fabric. Sew an outline stitch onto your base fabric, indicating
exactly where the appliqué should appear . Then, using an appliqué or regular
steam iron, apply heat to the design and position the appliqué directly over the
outline stitch. With the appliqué in place, tack it down around the edges with a
loose tack­down stitch to hold it in place and then sew around the edges with a
satin stitch.
If you are using a zigzag stitch around the edges instead of a satin stitch, you can
skip the step of applying a loose tack­down stitch.
Perforated Perfection
There are times when a non­fabric material, such as a lightweight plastic, foil or
film, may be used for an appliqué. If the material you use can be perforated by the
needle as it creates the satin­stitch border around the design, there is no need to
cut it out first; the needle will do this for you. The satin stitch along the design’ s
border will make it easy to tear away any excess material as long as there are
decorative stitches of some sort within the appliqué design to keep it in place.
Backing Choices
The correct backing for your appliqué work is determined by the fabric to which you
are applying the design. For example, Figure 1 (shown above) is placed on a tote
bag, which can withstand a medium to lightweight tearaway backing. The large
portion of the dog’ s tan coat is a micro suede fabric that adds texture, as well as
reduces stitch count by filling in large areas. Ideal for childrenswear , embroidery
stitches give the dog personality , and the coat’ s nap adds character and charm to
the design.
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A design more than 12 inches tall, Figure 2 is stitched on the back of a fleece vest.
The detail of the woman’s face, hair and arms is complemented with green and red
shaded fabric. The sun behind her is an appliqué, and the flowers and grass at her
feet share space with her gown’ s green fabric.
Figure 2
The appliqué fabrics were chosen to add texture, interest and dimension, and
perhaps reduce an already­high stitch count. Because of the fleece’ s stretchiness,
a cutaway backing was used, as well as topping. To keep the flowers’ small stitches
from sinking into the fleece’ s pile, a water­soluble topping keeps the stitches
elevated, even after the excess topping is removed.
Figure 3 is an example of appliqué on performancewear . The fabric’s stretchiness
requires stabilization with a sturdy cutaway. In addition, since the flying skull design
is placed on running shorts that are worn against the skin, a soft, thin cover­all is
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