Have you ever tried to trace off a pattern onto a dark fabric for applique with a light-box?  Impossible unless you have some super human skills I lack.  Then there is the added problem of what to mark the vinyl with so it shows up.

Since I have never liked to mark my background fabric in any way because I find it impossible to line up my applique with those markings exactly.  There are just too many human variables involved to achieve perfect accuracy.

A permanent marking tool leaves me no room for error.  This may be not a big problem with the average larger scale applique, but for tiny pieces in a layered intricate pattern? not gonna happen. Even as I mark and stitch with my own patterns, I never match up exactly every time with every piece.  Yes, you heard it here in my own words, I am NOT perfect.  You may now alert the media.

Back to the Overlay and Dark Fabric. …

When I created “American Still Life”, I wanted to use dark browns for the background.  Uh oh, how do I see where to place my applique? My go-to sharpie black marker could not be seen very easily to place the pieces properly so it would not work.  A light-box was obviously not going to be an option. I had even had much younger eyes back then too.

The first lightbulb idea came to me and I purchased a lime green sharpie.  You know the relatively new Sharpies in the cool colors?  For some reason, the colored Sharpie did not affix to the vinyl like its black counterpart and I found my lines rubbed off within seconds of contact with my forearm and hands.

My vinyl was clear in a matter of minutes and I found the missing lime green ink on my hands and arms.  Not my best look.

Then as I was perusing my local craft store one day, I saw this white Pentel pen.  Hmmmm (imagine millions of little LED lights going on simultaneously in my head).  I tried the pen on the vinyl and it worked (this where I heard a chorus of angels sing).

The lines stay put and only start to disappear after I have reached the end of the overlay’s useful life.

The ink (smells like spray paint) does not fade, but over a loooong period of time, it will start to scratch off in places.  I am already finished by this point and I have used the overlay so many times, the vinyl should be ready to tear apart on its own.

One time when I was working against a deadline, my Pentel White went dry.  OH NO!  I went to my art supplies and found a ZIG ”painty” pen in yellow. The Zig marker had a chemical composition like the white Pentel so I gave it a try.  It worked too!  So now I have two types of pens I can go to when I need to mark an overlay for dark, pieced or print backgrounds.

Now, any background is an option and I don’t worry about how I am going to mark it for my applique placement.  Life is good.

I had read somewhere on a message board where someone complained of a “drag” through the fabric when they tried one out and then gave up on the needle as “not good”. This happened to be one of the betweens needles for hand quilting.  I was mystified because these needles glide through fabric like a hot knife through butter.

Then I opened a new pack and I experienced what this person was talking about.  It was hard to pull through the fabric and actually squeaked like freshly washed hair as the needle passed through the fabric.  How to fix?

If you get one or more of these needles that do this…..

Keep working with the needle and relatively quickly the drag will go away. The wayward needle will behave as though it was originally perfect from the pack.  For a few stitches you will be highly irritated (like listening to nails on a chalkboard) but within about 15-20 stitches (not a lot in sewing terms), the needle will glide like it should.

These needles are highly polished in the manufacturing process and I am thinking this could be from residual polishing compound that is still attached to the shaft of the needle or it could be a temporary rough spot in the powder coat plating during the manufacturing process.

I am just guessing of course but whatever causes the inital drag on an odd needle here and there is temporary. The drag is eliminated quickly as the needle makes a few passes through the fabric.  Don’t throw the needle out!  It is perfectly good and will perform as it should once you put a few stitches on it.

I wanted to pass this on in case any of you came across one or more of these needles and thought I was crazy stupid in my high praise of them.  They are amazing needles and I am still as enthusiastic about them as ever after sewing many hours and thousands of stitches.  Just once in awhile, one of the needles complains about working and when I let it know I won’t give up, it quiets down and does its job like it should.

If only it were that easy with kids and chores.

So what does this have to do with applique?  Everything when it comes to curves.  The reason curves give so many beginners and even experienced stitchers angst is, the amount of ease that needs to be turned while making it lie smooth and not creating teeth in the process along the finished edges.  You know those teeth riiiiiight?

Sometimes the solution is so simple.  I was able to stitch just a little yesterday and I thought maybe this would help some of you still struggling with getting nice smooth curves.

Obviously when you start stitching, start on the downside of the curve.  If you start on an upward curve, when you come to the end of your stitching, you will be plowing the excess seam allowance against your starting point’s turned under seam allowance.  A tug of war ensues as to which side gets habitation rights.  It is never pretty.

Here I have stitched around my leaf and am coming to the end of my stitching.  Normally one would have a pin holding the seam allowance in place pinned horizontally.  Look carefully and what do you see?  That excess fabric is going to be trouble as you get to the end of your stitching.  I would be continuing to “push” that excess fabric forward towards the previous stitching’s starting point.

So, just like in garment sewing or even home dec, split up the ease by pinning strategically.  In this case, the seam allowance is approximately one inch in length so it is not a relatively large amount.  I find the halfway point of the seam allowance which takes really intensive math calculations (not) and pin………VERTICALLY.

Do you see what happens now with that excess fabric in the seam allowance?  It is much, much, much easier to work in smoothly and turn under because you are dividing up that excess ease into equal portions along the curve.  I see light bulbs going on everywhere right now. Sometimes we get so entrenched in our ways that we often don’t see what is such a simple solution right in front of us.

Continue as normal stitching as close as you can to the pin and stop again.  Oh and don’t forget to “tickle the belly” of your seam allowance (gently swiping towards you) with your needle as you turn it under so it nestles under there nicely.

Say it with me here, split the remaining difference again (in half), pin vertically and stitch.

Pull the pin and then stitch closed and amazingly there is no “chunk” of fabric butting up against the starting point creating a nasty fabric tooth to spoil the curve.  Just stitch a couple of more stitches past the starting point and voila!  Smooooooooth.

Once you understand ease, it helps you to tackle the curves with confidence and abandon.  Well, maybe not abandon but without sweating bullets anyway. I hope this trick works for you if you are having difficulty trying to get smooth curves.

Now back to packaging up the Purple Finch Kits that should be ready for ordering on Monday.  Have a great weekend everyone!

As you know, I had to put away Jason’s Pumpkin Quilt for awhile (OK a long time) because I had to complete other pressing obligations.

When I finally started to applique on it once again, I was really frustrated.  I couldn’t figure out where my applique mojo went.  I couldn’t seem to get that nice clean edge I like so much and honestly, my applique sucked.

Then the light bulb turned on.  I had been carrying around this quilt in progress with these particular pieces pinned in place for over a year as I traveled.  The applique fabric had softened up too much from the constant folding and unfolding (basically too much handling) and was no longer as firm as a newly starched shirt.

Then I got to thinking about the wash or pre-wash argument.  I used to never pre-wash because I lost that crisp firm feel of the fabric for creating really nice *crisp* applique edges. I have had some bleeding issues with fabric lately so I now pre-wash my fabrics. However, and this is important, I always starch the fabric after washing with some Mary Ellen’s starch to bring back that nice firm feel of new fabric right off the bolt.

I realized from this experience just how difficult it is to get a nice clean turned edge if the fabrics are too soft and flimsy either from pre-washing (no starch), or just being handled too much over time.  How many struggle with applique because they have pre-washed their fabrics and are trying to work with what I call, “fabric mush”.

Needleturn applique is much easier if you have crisp relatively firm fabric to work with.  If you want to pre-wash your applique fabrics, then starch them after washing to bring back that crisp hand. I believe you will have a much easier time with your applique pieces behaving better.

This was an experience I thought I would share with you in case I wasn’t the only one to wonder, “what the heck is happening here and why does my applique look so pitiful?”.   It may not be you, but your fabric that is holding you back.

Of course, if I hadn’t been so lazy and just re-cut those pieces it would have gone a lot smoother too.

I don’t hide the backs of my work from my students if I have any “in progress” (IP) samples to show.  Why?  Because you can learn a lot by looking at the back of your work.

The question regarding stitch length had me thinking that a look at the backside of this block while I was working on it would allow me to point out a few things to you.

I have no idea where the “bragging rights” rule came from about who has the tiniest applique stitch, but it needs to be trashed unceremoniously.  You can have the tiniest stitches in the world but it will not guarantee you will have nice looking applique.  Many times, the opposite is true because proper tension becomes a big ugly issue.

Sometimes you need to create a shorter stitch length and then you may need to make them a tad bit bigger depending on whether you are on a curve or a straight away area.  Your stitch length is relative to the shape you are stitching. And no, there is not an exact “per inch” number that is golden.  There are just too many individual human variables.

You need to ask yourself if things are not going well:

1) What is going on in the front?  i.e., bumpy edges, rabbit holes etc.,

2) Then turn the work over and find out what is going on in the back.

Most of the time, the back will be the source of your answer.  You can see the problems easier because the pretty fabrics and design are not distracting your eyes.  The loose tension of the thread will be obvious on the backside.  You can also see where you are incorrectly taking your stitch such as, too far away from the applique edge and out into the background.  Learn to read the back of your work and you can solve a lot of problems.

In this photo you can see where my new needle made a difference.  I am not trying to get smaller stitches, they just happened and my stitches look more consistent with the new needle.   Do you also notice how even the thread tension is on the stitches?  No puckering or strain as well as no loosey goosey stitches either–just flat and comfortable.  I am being highly technical with my terminology so stay with me.

Another thing I do (and always overlook sharing this) is when I have a piece that has a realtively large unsewn edge.  I baste down the open piece after the applique portion of the edge(s) has been completed.  I have drawn a black dashed line where the unfinished edge of this applique piece is on the front (the belly).  I want to avoid that crosswise wrinkle(s) that can occur if that edge is not stabilized.

I baste across the middle area because that is where the shift will occur since it is the fullest area.  This divides the fullness in two and reduces it down eliminating the possibility for distortion. The stitches are also easier to take out later after I have finished stitching the covering piece than if I had basted along the edge.  Follow?

I swear I could write a book just based on what to see on the back of the work as opposed to the front.  Kind of like a “Hand Applique Rx Reference Manual”.  I have only begun, randomly I fear, to give you information on how to decode the back of your work for answers.  Like I said, It could easily be a book.