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Prepping and cutting fusible appliques with the ScanNCut2

Prepping and cutting fusible appliques with the ScanNCut2

by Christine Baker

Yesterday on QUILTsocial I showed you how to select and resize shapes on the ScanNCut2 from Brother. Today I’ll cut some fusible applique shapes out of fabric using this very cool machine!

The ScanNCut2

The ScanNCut2

I’m also using THE Dream Machine 2 later this week to machine applique these shapes and make them into a fun baby quilt.

The Dream Machine 2

The Dream Machine 2

I have on hand an assortment of Northcott ColorWorks Solid fabrics that I think will be fun to make the fusible applique shapes with the ScanNCut2.

Northcott ColorWorks fabrics

Northcott ColorWorks fabrics

The first thing I did to prepare my fabrics was to cut them into 7″ squares and iron HeatNBond lite to the back of each one.

HeatNBond ironed to the back of the fabrics

HeatNBond ironed to the back of the fabrics

In order to make sure that the fabric adhered well to the cutting mat, I pulled the paper backing off of the HeatNBond on the back of the fabrics. I then used the spatula to smooth out any wrinkles and firmly stick the fabric to the cutting mat of the ScanNCut2. As you can see, I made sure to align two edges of the fabric with the left and top guidelines on the mat.

Sticking the fabric to the cutting mat

Sticking the fabric to the cutting mat

Next, I press the “Feed” button on the ScanNCut2 to load the mat with the fabric into the machine.

The "Feed" button

The “Feed” button

The mat, with the fabric adhered, is now in place.

The mat is loaded

The mat is loaded

To tell the machine what you want it to do, select “Cut” in the draw/cut selection screen. You can also load a marker into the machine and your design will be drawn onto paper. To do that, select “draw” on this screen.

Select "Cut"

Select “Cut”

Now press the green “Start/stop” button on the ScanNCut2 and then watch in amazement as the machine starts cutting out your shape!!

The "Start/stop" button

The “Start/stop” button

When cutting is finished, the message “Finished cutting.” appears on the display. Touch the “OK” key to return to the draw/cut selection screen.

Finished cutting

Finished cutting

Peel off the excess fabric from an area that is easily removable, such as a corner, and then slowly peel while maintaining an even pressure.

Holding the mat with your hand, use the included spatula to carefully peel off the cutout patterns. Isn’t my seal adorable?

The cut applique

The cut applique

If you want to make this baby quilt using traditional fusible applique methods, I’ve used the ScanNCut2 to draw out the shapes. Trace these shapes onto the paper backing of your HeatNBond and then cut along the drawn shapes. Remove the paper backing and then you’ve got the same shapes as me for your quilt. The ScanNCut2 sure speeds up this process! click on the picture below!

Click on the picture to download the PDF for the patterns

Click on the picture to download the PDF for the patterns

Now I’m going to get the ScanNCut2 to cut out the rest of my sea creatures from my prepared solid ColorWorks fabrics. Tomorrow we’ll start using THE Dream Machine 2 to do some embroidery and machine applique.

This is part 2 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 1: First steps to applique with the ScanNCut2

Go to part 3: THE Dream Machine 2: machine fusible applique and embroidery, the easy way

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Now I’m going to get the ScanNCut2 to cut out the rest of my sea creatures from my prepared solid ColorWorks fabrics. Tomorrow we’ll start using THE Dream Machine 2 to do some embroidery and machine applique.

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