Applique tools

Whilst I love applique I know many people don’t. It can be slow and fiddly but there are times in life that I need to slow down and sit with a needle and thread to think about things. The sewing machine is great for getting things done quickly and putting large pieces of fabric together but for small detailed work nothing beats a good needle and fine thread!

When sewing anything by hand it’s important to have the right tools, a poorly manufactured needle tugs and pulls through fabric.That’s no fun! If your needle is too big it makes large holes in the top layer and then the stitch becomes very visible.  Thick thread sits on top of your work and screams out look at me…  a thread that keeps snapping or tangling can really test your patience. So if you are not enjoying applique it may be time to try a new needle and thread.

When I first started to sew I had no idea what all the numbers and words meant on a needle packet or a spool of thread. Now I know what my favourites are and when to use them. I know that for applique I need fine thread and that usually means 50wt or higher. But not always, unfortunately thread manufacturers haven’t really agreed on a system for measuring thread weights so its important to feel the thread before you order it.

I like to match the colour of the thread to what I’m sewing on for example, for sewing a yellow circle onto a black background I choose yellow thread. I like using the finest thread possible so that whenever the stitches are visible they are barely there. For years I used Aurifil brand thread in a 50wt but recently I’ve started to use a polyester thread that looks like silk. I still use Aurifil for machine piecing and hand sewing but have switched to Superior Bottom Line Thread for hand applique.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This thread is usually used for the bottom thread of the sewing machine and comes pre wound on cardboard bobbins. I find I can get by with just a handful of neutral colours but one day I may splurge and buy a rainbow of them!

When I do need a particular colour I select from my super handy Prewound Masterpiece Threads Donut. It’s hard not to find the right colour here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favourite hand piecing and applique needle is a milliners/ straw size 11. I find it is long enough to help me with needle turn applique and holds many stitches for hand piecing. The small eye of the needle means it also doesn’t make big holes in your fabric and you only need a small knot to anchor the thread. Needles are fairly inexpensive so I encourage you to invest in a well manufactured needle! You are looking for a gentle taper from tip to eye, a needle free from burrs that may catch on fabric and a smooth polished eye that doesn’t shred your thread. A fine, straight and sharp needle is a joy to sew with. There’s lots of interesting information on the net if you want to know more about needles.

If you’ve tried to applique by hand and you really don’t think you will come to like it, don’t give up. There are some amazing things that can be done with a sewing machine these days. Michelle Hill is an Australian who has really perfected this technique and her classes are highly sought after. You can read through her basic instructions for machine applique in these instructions for a pattern published in Issue 38 of Quilter’s Companion.

What other tools will you need? Well it depends on how much applique you do. I like small sharp scissors, a wooden manicure stick to help turn fiddly points and some Dritz Fray Check in case I snip a little close to the seam and I’m worried about fraying. Some people like to use small applique pins but I’m not that bothered. If the pins really get in the way I tack my applique down with thread and snip that off later.

So there you go, that’s my tools for applique. Everyone has their favourites so go ahead and use what gives you the best results.

Read my previous post about applique for some tips and techniques.

catch up post for my lovely students…

Hey, you’ve found my blog, well done!

Blogs can be pretty confusing to navigate so I’m going to link to the posts that relate to what we’ve already covered in class and to what you can expect to cover next week and further along the course.

It’s a big learning curve, I’ve structured the lessons so we cover as many of the techniques that quilt makers use without overwhelming you with too many details. If you want more information or help I post links here under each topic.

Week 1: We already discussed The Anatomy of a Quilt and the importance of colour and contrast in quilt design. We drafted our first quilt block and learnt about seam allowances whilst piecing a simple block.

Week 2: We learnt how to cut strips and piece them quickly to construct a Rail Fence block. Those that wanted an extra challenge are giving the Variation Rail Fence block a go. The 1/4” seam is crucial when piecing lots of strips. Sew accurately and press with care. Finally, make sure your measurements are correct before cutting.

Week 3: This week we are cutting and piecing a wedge shape that makes up the Dresden Plate. Next week we applique a circle for the centre and the whole flower to a 14” square of your base fabric.

Week 4: Applique: learn a few different techniques to tackle applique. More complex applique patterns are available if you enjoy the technique.

Week 5: Learn English Paper Piecing, we sew over card templates to construct a hexagon block, a Grandmother’s Flower Garden Unit or applique the hexagons onto your base fabric in a random design.

Week 6: Foundation Paper Piecing lesson, great for fiddly blocks and blocks with lots of matching seams and points.

Week 7: Bring in all your scraps to make either a Log Cabin block or a modern improvised block. Other patterns are available too. Time to decide if you have enough blocks, how to piece it all together and finish off your quilt.

Week 8: This week we cover sashing, cornerstones and piecing options for your blocks. Practice machine quilting or hand quilting. learn how to bind your quilt. It’s unlikely that your quilt will be finished by the end of this lesson as quilting can take a while. Don’t worry, plenty of notes are available to take home!

I’ll post more information as we go along!

Lorena x

Getting back on the “repetitive horse”

I just read Amy’s blogpost about “the one trick pony” versus the “repetitive horse” and thought it was timely given the mind numbing, painstaking piecing I’ve been doing this week. I’m really not a fan of repetition, I love the challenge of finishing a tricky block and admiring it before moving on to the next one.

That’s why I love a good sampler quilt, with lots of different techniques and proportions. That’s probably what attracts so many of us to the Dear Jane, Farmer’s Wife and Nearly Insane quilts.

But a good pattern repeated over and over has it’s own beauty. The background photo on this blog is a good example. Making 49 Orange Peel blocks in black and white is really an exercise in pinning and pressing and then adding another finished block to the design wall. Yet the finished quilt looked so gorgeous hung up in my sewing room I really didn’t want to give it away! This has been my story as a quilter… making beautiful things and sending them off into the world to be loved.

But as I mentioned earlier, I’m trying to get into the Zen of repetitive piecing this week. I have quite pile of fabrics in front of me to get through…

What on earth am I making with these 1936 rectangles?

Four hundred and eighty four 2 1/2” little cross blocks. Phew, I’m tired just thinking about it. I briefly entertained the thought of quick piecing them, sewing up long strips and then cross cutting them but you don’t get much variety that way. I think the real beauty in these little blocks is how each one is different, with it’s own character and flaws...

It should be relaxing really, like meditation. I’ll let you know how it goes

Friends through stitching

I’m just running out the door to meet a friend, it’s her birthday today. I’ll be meeting up with three women who have become great friends through stitching. Together we have one common interest but also share the ups and downs of every day life. Nothing is off limits -we chat about children, jobs, great recipes or a new cafe, sometimes we even talk about sewing, ha!

Actually that’s not true mostly we drool over fabric and pass on sewing tips and tricks. I’ve learnt a lot from these fabulous women over the last 7 years and I feel lucky to have them as friends.

We’ve been entering a group quilt in the Sydney Show together for the past 4 years. This year it’s finally my turn to select the quilt and drive the project. I can’t wait to share that with you as it’s been a long term goal to make a version of this quilt. But there’s lots of work to be done before July so I need to get a wriggle on! It’ll be worth it.

Anyway, if you want to make your own fabric scrap box there’s a great tutorial at the Sometime Crafter blog: Fabric Scrap Basket. They are perfect to fill with birthday treats!

More sewing with templates…

I am the worst blogger EVER! I hate to just post pictures without some explanation and then convince myself I haven’t got the time. But this post should be short and sweet. I’m hoping to explain how to use the Marti Michell templates to machine piece hexagons. This will save you heaps of time rather than hand piecing over papers…

I gave the Marti Michell 2 1/2” Stripper Set a go to make this iPad case for Justine. She loves the Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi range and had a FQ bundle she hadn’t got around to using yet.

I cut a 2 1/2” strip from every piece and chose one of the larger scale prints to line the case.

Cutting the hexagons from the strip was really easy, perfect for using up those favourite jelly rolls!

Place the 2a hexagon template on the strip and use a sharp 28mm rotary cutter to cut the hexagon. You can stack the fabric strips and cut multiple pieces, this makes the cutting go real quick. Isn’t that fabric pretty!!

Unfortunately I haven’t got a fast way to mark the dots. Use a sharp pencil, I use a regular HB pencil, anything too soft may spread and mark lighter colours. This is a little tedious but unless you can eyeball the 1/4” seam allowance where it meets at each point of the hexagon (perfectly) I wouldn’t skip this step. It really helps when you’ve got the fabric bunched under the presser foot and can’t work out where to stop sewing.

Next it’s time to take your hexies over to the machine. You can pick up pieces randomly or play around till you like how they look together. I felt they needed a little resting spot every now and again so added a few grey hexies.

Sewing the hexies… Set your stitch length to slightly smaller than usual, I use a 2mm length stitch. It gives you more control when it comes to stopping on the dot and the seams are tighter. You don’t want these gaping apart!

Place two hexies right sides together and lower your needle exactly on the top dot. Give your machine a little kiss if it has an automatic knotting function now! Otherwise you will need to make a couple of zero length stitches before continuing. Sew right up to the next dot and again make a knot (zero stitches) before cutting your thread. It’s best to sew just short of the dot rather than go past it and sew into the seam allowance.

To make a pieced section of hexagons like I did for J’s iPad case I sewed rows of hexies together end to end. Then I sewed the rows together in pairs, fours etc.

The next step is a little tricky to get your head around so it helps to lay the rows out and match the first seam you will sew. You are sewing between the dots, make sure to keep all extra fabric out of the way. Tie off at each seam and then pivot to sew the next one and so on until you are done.

There’s no need to press till you finish sewing your rows together. Then you need to pay a little bit of attention to the seams. Alternate the direction each seam is pressed so that you end up with “swirled” seams where the y seams meet. This will reduce the bulk at the seam and help you achieve a nice flat piece of patchwork.

I know, it’s a little slow and hardly seems worth the bother the first few times but really keep going, imagine how long it would take to sew all these hexies together by hand?

Once I had enough pieced fabric to make the case I used a few tutorials to construct the case.

The Sometimes Crafter  : kindle case tutorial

Greenleaf Goods : Quilted iPad Cover

You Sew Girl : Magnetic clasp instructions

Since then I’ve also made myself a Kindle Case, using the triangle template in the 2 1/2” Strippers set. This was a very quick project and I love having something I’ve made to protect and distinguish my e-reader from all the others.

Sewing with templates

This post has been a long time coming. How to break down and describe the process of designing, fussy cutting and sewing a block using Marti Michelle’s Set H.

I first purchased a set of these in a quilt shop but felt too intimidated to use them. Then I bought the accompanying book but it still wasn't making much sense. It wasn’t till I attended a class with Catherine Butterworth that it all gelled and made sense, she’s a wonderful teacher.  Now I’m enjoying arranging the shapes with different prints and colours to create unique blocks and looking forward to creating more quilts using some of the other template sets.

Prior to this the only way I’ve tackled hexagons and inset seams was using English Paper Piecing. Now that I’ve used the Perfect Patchwork templates it’ll be pretty hard to go back to that method for a large quilt. Sewing hexagons and inset “y seams” with your sewing machine is much faster and almost fool proof. The template set comes with 3 acrylic templates to create 11 shapes.

By taking the focus away from the construction I’ve found I am playing more with the designs and having lots of fun with all the different tessellations that fit inside the finished 6” sided hexagon. (Marti Michelle templates are measured by the length of a hexagon’s side)

So how do you start?

Firstly, pick some fabric you can play with. There are lots of wonderful prints that start to take on a life of their own once you’re armed with a tessellating shape and Marti Michelle’s Magic Mirrors.

Make a cardboard window of the finished size of your diamond by using the markings on the acrylic template. Move the window over your fabric and use the “magic mirrors” to help you find a placement that works.

it’s all done with mirrors! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Once you’ve selected the area you want to use, mark the corners so you can align the acrylic template and cut the precise shape. Cut using a small or medium rotary cutter, make sure you clip the engineered corners off. They really make a difference when you are sewing the seams together!

Use this shape to help you with placing the other 5 diamonds.

A warning: make sure you’ve got enough of the fabric to yield 6 repeats, I’ve been caught out more than once! Generally speaking fabric repeats every 24” so you will need 1.5 yards of fabric to get 6 exact large diamond pieces across the length of the fabric. Be aware that you will need a lot more fabric than if you are cutting shapes from a strip.

 

To piece the diamonds into the star shape you will need to mark the starting and stopping points of the seams on your diamond shapes. Mark them on the back of your diamonds with a pencil. I’ve found chalk rubs off and makes piecing the blocks together difficult.

Align two diamond shapes together, face to face.

Starting at the first dot, tie a knot (or make a couple of “zero stitches”) and stitch along the 1/4” seam till you approach the end dot. Tie off and cut the thread. Repeat with the other diamonds. Join the first and the last diamonds together in exactly the same way. Make sure you keep the seam allowances out of the way.

Start with simple diamond shapes till you’ve mastered the cutting and piecing techniques. Press the seams to face one way and “swirl” the centre seam to reduce the bulk at the middle.

By using 6 more diamonds, we can fill in the spaces between out star “arms” to make a hexagon.

That’s all for today, will put some more information together to post here soon… Please let me know if you have any questions.

have fun xx

Progress: Little Apples

Well imagine my surprise when Aneela Hooey herself mentioned my first Little Apples hexagon block on her blog! I mean, could there be any greater honour than the fabric designer herself liking what you’ve made with her creation?

I’m quite taken by the Little Apples fabric range. The more I cut into it, the more possibilities I see in fussy cutting and complementing it with other fabrics in my stash.

Like the vintage Kaffe Fassett in the centre of block #10. I think it looks like disco balls with hedgehogs dancing around.

And whilst this quilt began as a way to learn a new technique I am determined to complete a full size quilt now, just so I can play with these cool shapes and create kaleidoscope like blocks. I wake up with new ideas of how to transform a lone little turtle into a sophisticated patchwork block.

Or form new shapes from barely recognisable items of clothing…

I think my favourite so far is the Super Reading Girl block. She is so cool with her book in hand and the mustard text swirling around.

I’ve been taking some photos and putting together a little tutorial on how I’ve been constructing these block. I feel so liberated sewing these by machine. No papers to tack, no slow whipstitching and the backs are just as pretty as the fronts with all their swirled seams.

I’m thinking that the Marti Michelle templates are better than any cutting system as you can align them directly over the fabric for fussy cutting.

Now excuse me as I get back to playing with my fabric… x Lorena