How to make a one-of-kind applique with small fabric pieces by Jennifer Houlden October 12, 2017 written by Jennifer Houlden October 12, 2017 4K Yesterday I had so much fun playing with Sulky’s Tear-Easy stabilizer to foundation piece the background blocks for my autumn table runner. It’s definitely something I’ll be doing again in the near future but today my focus is to create intriguing applique with small fabric pieces. This is a really easy technique and a scrap stash buster if you like using scraps or if you’re like me I just cut a strip off a piece of fabric and start from there. Beautiful rust and orange fabrics Stabilizer choice This technique requires that the stabilizer stays in place so a cut-away, wash-away or tear-away will work. The only catch is that it needs to be fusible. I decided to go with the Sticky Fabri-Solvy to build my piece of fabric. Since it’s sticky I won’t need to fuse the pieces in place before sewing. My plan is to make maple leaves and since I live in the forest I was able to just pick a leaf, trace it and use it for my template. Because I live where the leaves are already changing color my mind is seeing reds, oranges, yellows and rusts for this project. I’ve chose several batiks and cottons and decided to add in some of the lighter batiks from yesterdays fabrics. This technique does work best if there’s a good balance of light, dark and medium valued fabrics. Strips of fabric in a variety of lights and darks How to create the intriguing applique Step 1 Cut strips from pieces of coordinating fabrics. They only need to be 2″ wide x WOF. Step 2 Layer the strips and cut into varied shapes and sizes. Pieces of fabric in various shapes and sizes Step 3 Place in piles. This allows you to easily see what you have and pick for placement. It also tells you what fabrics you like best as some of the piles deplete faster than the others. Each fabric has its own pile Step 4 Peel off the paper from the stabilizer and place the stabilizer on the table with sticky side up. Paper removed for stabilizer, sticky side facing up Step 5 Place fabric pieces on the stabilizer using all the fabrics and making a pleasant arrangement of color. Don’t overthink the placement as this piece of fabric is going to get cut up again. Make sure all the stabilizer is covered and no white is showing – the fabric pieces will overlap at strange angles. Placing pieces on stabilizer Step 6 If using a fusible stabilizer now is the time to fuse the fabric to the stabilizer. Because I used the Sticky Fabri-Solvy no heat is required and the fabric pieces stick in place. Step 7 Stitch down all raw edges of the fabric pieces with a zigzag stitch or decorative stitch of your choice. I used a free motion zigzag stitch and a 30 weight Sulky Blendables thread in a matching color. The variegated thread changes color approximately every inch and it is a seamless change with the variation of the colors used. This is one of my absolute favorite threads and I have an addiction to them. Remember to change your needle to a 90/14 topstitch since the thread is of a heavier weight. Sulky blendables The fabric is made and all the raw edges have been stitched down. I love the thread and how the yellow in the thread gives it a bit of a glow. When I first started quilting I was never going to put yellow in any of my quilts – now if you look at my quilts most of them have yellow of some sort in them. Amazing how we change our tune. Just like I would never mix batiks and cottons in the same quilt and now I do it all the time because it gives lots of texture to the piece especially with this technique. Raw edges stitched with zigzag stitch I’ll draw out my maple leafs on some HeatnBond and fuse them to the new fabric I created above. It will fuse just fine to the stabilizer. Cutting them out is a bit tougher than just a regular piece of fabric so sharp scissors are a must. I use my KAI scissors for this job as they’re very sharp and cut through the layers with no problem. Maple leaf and sharp scissors Tomorrow is the day it all comes together and hopefully I’ll have a stunning table runner to adorn my dining room table for the autumn months. Create intriguing applique with small fabric pieces and make your applique designs stand out. This is part 4 of 5 in this series. Go back to part 3: 4 great reasons to foundation piece with tear-away stabilizer Go to part 5: 4 helpful tips for auditioning quilt block layouts [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”23735596″] Print this page or save as a PDF 0qs176free patternsmaple leaf fall table runnersulky blendablessulky stabilizerstear easytutorials FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinRedditWhatsappTelegramEmail Jennifer Houlden Jennifer runs Quilts by Jen, a fantastic educational resource for quilters with many great free tutorials ranging from how to choose fabrics, understanding the value of fabrics, pressing, building Bargello runs, pinning, binding, sandwiching, couching, quilting, and much more. Check them out! previous post 4 great reasons to foundation piece with tear-away stabilizer next post 4 helpful tips for auditioning quilt block layouts YOU MAY ALSO LIKE... OLFA rotary cutter and rulers for quilters on... What’s in your Hemline Gold Multi-Use Craft Bag? 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