applique

My most recent crafting obsession is applique. I've long admired Rachel King's beautifully handcrafted homewares and the clothing that she has appliqued for her children. So when she agreed to share the "how tos" of this craft at Craft Nerds, I was excited!

To start your applique project you will need fabric for your design and backing fabric or a t shirt or a tea towel, etc, iron on vilene (Bondaweb*), embroidery cotton and the basics - pencil, needles, scissors.

Then follow these simple steps....

1) choose a shape/design to applique (remember simple to start with!)

2) draw on the paperside of the Bondaweb - if you are doing numbers, letters.... draw your design in reverse

3) iron the design onto the wrong side of the fabric - rough side down

4) cut the design out and peel off backing paper

5) iron onto your background material

6) to finish and reinforce your design, blanket stitch round the edges (machine stitching looks great too!)

And here is my finished design....

....which I am making into a cushion. It was so much fun to make!

Applique is a simple and effective way to transform a plain piece of fabric, clothing, tablecloths, tea towels, cushions, quilts..... The more you do, the more complex your designs can become. Go on, have a go.... You'll love it!!

*You can pick up the Bondaweb at Spotlight. It also goes by the name of Vliesofix, Vlieseline, Vilene..... It can be confusing. I asked the ladies at Spotlight for help several times before I found it!