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Applique is My Favorite: Video Tutorial

September 19, 2013 1 Comment

Oh, how I love me some applique! It makes me giddy. It's okay if you think I'm a weirdo, I'm completely good with that. There's just something about applique that speaks to my heart.

I adore applique because it can be pretty, funky, crazy, arty, modern, traditional, simple and complicated. Applique can be used in so many ways, as well: on quilts, clothing, bags, purses, and on an on an on. There are also many techniques for creating applique: turned-edge, raw-edge, machine stitched, and hand-stitched. And within those techniques, there are many ways to create the final applique.

In this post, I'm sharing my most favorite of techniques: turned-edge applique. If you Google that term, it's very likely that you'll find an overwhelming amount of information and mulitple methods for the technique. I'm quite partial to one technique, which was developed by my mom, Sharon Schamber. Although, in my 13 years of quilting, I've tried virtually all of them.

When my mom began creating applique for her quilts, she did it all by hand, with needle-turn applique (which she still does, for very special designs). The results were gorgeous, but it was very time consuming. That began her quest for a more efficient technique that she could stitch by machine, but get the look of hand applique. She tried freezer paper methods, and many other foundations until she discovered what she was looking for. Finally, she developed, and perfected, her technique using a leave-in foundation, which is glue-basted to the applique piece. Then all of the applique pieces are glue-basted to the background fabric. Once the quilt is washed, like magic, the applique pieces look hand stitched. It's easy, fast, and the results are fantastic!

Liberty Floral by Alyssa Lichner

Modern Beauty by Alyssa Lichner

My friend Alyssa, at Pile O' Fabric, has been hosting a wonderful Skill Builder Block of the Month series, on her blog. And guess what!? This month's blocks are applique!! Yippee!!! When, Alyssa asked me to teach her my mom's technique, to use for her BOM tutorial, I was thrilled. What a wonderful way to share this technique with so many quilters! When I saw the fabulous designs, I knew I wanted to do more to support Alyssa. So, I made some videos. At first, it was going to be just one little video on how to turn the edges of the pieces. But, it became much more than that. I put together an entire series of applique videos, walking you through the complete process from the first cut to the final stitch. The series supports Alyssa's designs, but the techniques, tips and tricks can be used for so much more. I focus on beginners, but I think many levels of quilters will gain something from watching. Did I mention that the videos are FREE?! Yep, they sure are.

You can watch them here, or hop on over to YouTube. I really hope you enjoy them, and that they inspire you to find a place for a little applique in your life.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Cristy