Applique Art

I have been experimenting with different types of applique for my wall art. I thought I would start with the traditional "Needle Turn" applique. I joined several ladies from the Mt. Hood Quilt Guild in a "small group" quilt meeting to learn this.

I definitely felt like a newbie here - there were so many things I didn't know: how big should the stitches be? which ones are we taking out? which ones stay? how come mine stick out funny when I'm done and yours don't? 

The real trick for me was to do small stitches and if one stitch was off, take it out and make it right. This is not a fast process! I found it best to do at night when I was winding down for the day and under no pressure to "hurry up and get anything done."

The basic easy steps: 1. Cut the piece to be appliqued. 2. Draw a faint outline of where the item should go on the main fabric. 3. Baste piece to the main fabric. (I tried to skip this step and it actually took longer because the piece would move off the spot where it was supposed to be.) 4. Using thread that is the same color as the piece you are appliqueing, start to attach to the main piece by turning under a small seem and making tiny stitches. Your stitches should not show on the top of the appliqued piece. 5. Clip curves as you need to and clip corners to cut out the bulk. 6. Anchor at the end.

Practice! Have fun!