Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Appliqué progress


We spent a few days in Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta, here in Canada. I did quite a bit of walking...there are some nice trails here. I also explored the Parliament Building...



They gave free guided tours there, very interesting!

But on to the appliqué experience .... I found the ironing board in the hotel room was a great work space!

DISCLAIMER: I don't know anything about needle turn appliqué, so I am only relaying what my experience has been in trying this out! I appreciate any and all help, comments and advice!!

I started by placing the stems, fitting them to my template, and pinning them in place...

My first few stitches were too visible...

so I learned to just catch the edge of the fold on the edge, which made the stitches almost invisible...

For the leaf, I had to clip the inside curve..

I had some problems with the points...they didn't turn out very pointed! But I found if I folded the point over, to make it flat..

then folded both sides in....it looked much better...

I tended to finger press the edges, both to mark where the turn should happen, and also to make placement on the template a bit easier..I think a smaller allowance might be better, 1/4" makes it a bit bulky in some places.

I dont have a light box, which would make using the template very easy, but I found just holding it up gave me a clear picture.

On the outside curves, I learned to only turn under a small bit at a time...turn. ..stitch...turn...stitch..

If I turned under too much ahead, it made flattened, pointy bits to the curve...

with small bits at a time, the curve was much smoother....

I was VERY, VERY  slow ...but here is my first finished  block !! I am so happy !!

I am also hoping that this will get faster with practice......or I might not live long enough to actually finish enough blocks for a whole quilt!!

So I am ...in progress !
and linking up to The Needle and thread Network..

and Work in Progress Wed..


17 comments:

  1. looking good sew far . Interesting how fast your stitches improved.I think the speed in which you complete a block will as well.
    happy stitching
    in stitches

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  2. Yes, as you get familiar with the process it improves and goes faster - thank you for sharing your journey.

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  3. I think you did really well. Stitching goes faster as you get more comfortable with it. Sometimes less than quarter inch seams works better with needle turn but don't go too thin! I use a tiny whip stitch with matching thread and the stitches don't show all that much at all. Enjoy the process and your trip
    Karen

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  4. Look at you getting all clever! Seriously, it's fabulous, but I'd be into the wine after just doing one piece!

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  5. I think you did extremely well for a first time at applique . One thing that I find is if you use silk thread it blends in and is barely noticeable , just a suggestion of course.

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  6. Looks Great! Wow I find this awesome and inspiring. I love seeing progress and skill building, you should be very proud.

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  7. That looks great! Glad you found a method that works well for you =D

    I'm hosting a new swap over at my blog if anyone is interested please pop over for a look =D

    http://ibescheraldine.blogspot.co.uk/p/goodie-bag-swap.html

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  8. Well I think it looks just great...one would never know you were just learning

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  9. You are doing a great job! Can't wait to see more!

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  10. You're doing a beautiful job! thanks for the tips - I haven't done much appliqué (because it scares me a little) but I'm encouraged by your progress..

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  11. You are getting it. Yes, the seam allownce can be a very scant 1/4 inch. I've heard you can turn under anything with even only a few threads! lol The ironing board is brilliant!

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  12. I read this in detail as if I was going to be trying this at home! Haha! I love the look. I'm a little in awe of the fact you were crafting in a hotel room? I'm usually either too busy or too exhausted to even read a page in the books I have with me!

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  13. The finished block is lovely. Do you leave the template in when you are sewing? I've never tried this with a template.

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  14. Looks very good, you are doing great. I read a tip which was to mark the motif on the background, the lines would be hidden under the appliqué, didn't try it though.....

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  15. You learned so much and improved so much from the very first stitch. Way to go!! I love hand appliqué but my favourite technique is to use freezer paper. As for those pesky points ... I find if you stitch right to the point without worrying at all about the other side, you can force all the seam allowance under as you start down the other side. If that makes any sense at all. You're doing really well!

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