4 essential tips to applique with decorative stitches

I hope you liked the lesson from yesterday’s post about perfecting the satin stitch.

It’s time to think about applique outside the box. One feature on sewing machines is the number of decorative stitches that the machine is capable of stitching. However, I’ve heard many quilters say, “oh – I only use a zigzag and a straight stitch.” Perhaps, it’s time to break out of that rut and try some of those decorative stitches on your sewing machine?

I’m using the Husqvarna Viking Brilliance 75Q to play around with decorative stitches as a way of securing my applique. Let’s have a look.

I have to share a story about the blocks I’m working on for today’s post. Like many of you, I have a few UFOs that need to be finished. OK – if you’re not one of us – congratulations! I wish someone had told me what would happen if I didn’t finish all these quilts! Who knew they would grow into a huge pile?

I started a small group where each of the group members commits to a certain amount of work on one of their UFOs for the month. Each person chooses how much they can accomplish that month. Not only do we have peer pressure to get our task completed, but there’s money at stake. Each person puts $100 in the bucket. Each month that they accomplish their task, they get $10 back. Technically at the end of the year (we don’t meet in the summer), we would each get our $100 back.

This is the project that I chose for this month and I was determined to get it done. I’m definitely motivated by $10! Crazy!!!

In the photo below, you can see that I’ve stitched the two partial stems before I stitch the long uninterrupted stem.

It’s easy to stop and start the line of applique stitching as I use the FIX function on the Brilliance 75Q. This is a priceless function, especially when doing applique. No need to pull the threads to the back and tie them off. And back stitching with blanket stitch would not look nice. The FIX function saves a LOT of time.

If you’re not familiar with the FIX function, essentially the threads are pulled to the back of the work and a knot is created on the underside of the work. Just as if you had pulled the threads to the back and tied them yourself.

Here, you can see that the FIX function is engaged (the light is on). In the Sewing Settings menu, I can turn that FIX Auto function off for that sewing session if I don’t need it. I can activate the FIX function whenever I need it by touching the function on the function panel. I have total flexibility over when I use this feature.

The stitch menus are easy to access on the Interactive Touch Screen. I’ll touch on the screen a bit more tomorrow.

I’m in the Sewing Information Tab related to the stitch I’m using for the blanket stitch. There’s a lot of information on the screen to help me. The A Foot is recommended although I like to use the Open Toe Applique foot, I see a picture of the stitch including the starting point (indicated by the red dot), the recommended needle size, the stitch width and length (which I can change), the fabric type and weight (as chosen in the Sewing Advisor) and a whole lot more information.

It’s important to use this information to ensure that you get the best possible stitch.

If you look at the leaf shape below, you can see that it has a point on one end and it’s rounded at the other. To make it easy to stitch around this shape, I chose a stitch that was non-directional.

In this case, the non-directional stitch means that the stitch is going in the same orientation on both sides of the leaf. If I had of chosen a directional stitch, the stitch would be upside down (or going in the opposite direction) on the other side. You may want that. Just be aware of that when choosing your stitches.

Once you choose a non-traditional decorative stitch for applique, it’s imperative that you understand the stitch sequence. You’ll have to turn corners and go around curves and you need to understand the stitch sequence so you know when and where to pivot.

Making a stitch out sample is crucial to the success of the final work. It’s not hard – you just need to understand the sequence and the results are so worth the wee bit of extra work.

I mentioned this yesterday – should the edges of raw edge applique be finished? And if so – how? I think if you look at the two leaves below, it’s easy to say which one looks more interesting. The unstitched leaf looks flat. But jazzed up with that spikey stitch? That leaf looks stupendous!

I wanted to try as many different stitches as I could but used the same stitch on the similar shapes. I did a satin stitch (a very traditional applique stitch) on the yellow part of the flower. I choose a moss stitch (similar to the satin stitch, but with a jagged edge on both sides) and another decorative stitch for the main flower part. The stems were done with a blanket stitch, while the leaves were done with a spiky double-sided blanket stitch.

I had loads of fun browsing through the menus looking for stitches that I wanted to try.

One thing to keep in mind is how many points and curves you have on the shape you’re about to applique. If there are lots of points or sharp curves, you may want to go for a simpler applique stitch. Hence I chose the satin stitch for the yellow bits.

Here’s a closeup so you can see the stitching in a bit more detail. While I love traditional satin stitching, I also love the jagged edge stitches. They make the piece look way more organic and fun!

Have a look at the yellow shapes. See how I’ve taken ONE stitch sequence from one of the decorative stitches and only stitched that one sequence.

How did I do that? It’s super simple on the Husqvarna Viking Brilliance 75Q. I went into the PROGRAM tab (which is on the Start Menu tab). I selected the stitch I wanted to use and programmed STOP after one stitch sequence.

It was now a simple matter of positioning the block where I wanted the single flower motif to stitch out. I hit START on the function panel and the Brilliance 75Q stitched ONE motif and stopped.

Seriously? How much easier can it be to get a gorgeous SINGLE floral motif?

Here’s a screenshot of the moss stitch being selected from the menu of applique stitches. It’s like a satin stitch, but notice how the edges of both sides are jagged. I’m currently in the B Menu – Applique Stitches. If I decide that I want to use this stitch, I can hit the Stitch Information Tab (Aqua color) to get the screen that allows me to change the width and length of the stitch).

The stitches are logically organized by stitch type in various menus. There’s the Utility Menu, Applique Stitches, Heirloom Stitches and so on. As I move through the menus, the first twelve stitches in each menu will appear to the right of the menu list.

I can use the arrow keys on the screen to scroll through each menu if there are more than twelve stitches in the menu.

As I mentioned, I was working on two blocks. Here’s a look at the stitches used on the second block. Notice I used quite a dark thread for the veins on the leaves which helps to add a pop of color.

It’s a good idea to have a scrap of fabric near the sewing machine to test out your stitches. The more familiar you become with various stitches, this will be less important, but it’s still a good idea to do a sample stitch out EVERY TIME. I’ve been surprised more than once when I thought I had everything set just the way I wanted. Let’s just say the sample stitch out saves a lot of ripping! Just do it!

There’s nothing like trying a new stitch to learn how it works. I haven’t done a lot of candle wicking, yet I have a candle wicking foot – let’s give it a try. The candle wicking foot has a deep groove on the underside to allow for the thickness of the stitch to pass under the foot without jamming.

Now technically, I’m not appliqueing when I candle wicking, but it adds a nice embellishment to the edge of the block. Alternatively, I could run it along the edge of the applique shape if I wanted.

As I mentioned, I don’t use the candle wicking stitches often, so I wasn’t sure the best way to handle the corners. Since I had two blocks to do, I decided to try two different ways. The first time, I pivoted at the corner once the current stitch sequence was finished. I wasn’t 100% happy with that option as some of the corners were a bit curvy as I got back on track. I think I overshot the corner a wee bit.

The second time, I started in the corner and ended in the corner. Essentially, I did four separate lines of candle wicking stitches. I think I like that option better. I could have gotten really scientific and measured and calculated, but who wants to do that? The end result (in either case) is just fine.

As I mentioned, I was working on two different blocks. One had some embroidery floss couched to the flowers as well. And a bit of free motion on the leaves.

But don’t you think those blocks look a whole lot nicer with the variety of stitching on them?

This is the second block that I was working on. In case you’re wondering, the blocks were completed on time and I got my $10 for the month returned!

So there you have it – some great ideas for using those decorative stitches that are built-in to the Brilliance 75Q.

If you’re new to applique, play with the stitches on scrap fabric until you gain enough confidence to use those decorative stitches for applique. Make sure to use a stabilizer under your scrap fabric, otherwise, some of those stitches won’t look pretty.

Experiment with the width and the length of the stitches to see what happens. Sometimes, it ends up being a big mess and sometimes a very nice design emerges. But our confidence as a skilled sewist and as a creative person increases the more we allow ourselves to play and experiment. This experimentation is especially easy with all the tools and functions available on the Husqvarna Viking Brilliance 75Q. The sewing machine provides a lot of flexibility in how you work.

This is part 2 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 1: Perfecting the Satin Stitch with the Brilliance 75Q

Go to part 3: Getting technical: the difference between satin stitch and zigzag stitch

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