Quilting Hand Applique

Appliqué’ is a beutiful art form that is a major part of the world of quilting. Appliqué is the method of creating a picture by stitching fabric shapes atop a fabric foundation. Quilters will often spend hours appliquéing flowers, vines, leaves, and other shapes on a block or border of their quilt, only to be lost when it comes to deciding how to quilt their appliqué’. The appliqué stitching can be done by hand or by machine. The block pictured above is an example of hand appliqué’. We will save how to quilt machine appliqué’ for another time, because it comes with its own set of quilting “rules”. The hand appliqued block is so beautiful on its own that the quilting must be a compliment not a distraction.

I always try to study the quilt and the shapes to be quilted before I start. This helps me understand where the appliqué may need extra anchoring with stitches, like putting a vein in a leaf shape or a swirl in the center of the flower. It also makes me aware of areas to avoid like buttons or beading. Running over these with a machine can cause damage to the quilt top and/or break a needle on your machine. You can use a bright colored painters tape to mark these areas of “alert”. It can then be easiliy removed after the quilting is complete. If you are sending your quilt to a professional quilter, make them aware of objects like this.

Quilting hand appliqué quilts is always a risky business. If you quilt over all the appliqué pieces you will lose the dimension that the appliqué’ adds. If you don’t quilt the applique’ at all, the area puffs up and could get damaged. Too much – not enough – What is the answer? Of course each quilter has to decide for themselves, but I recommend a little of both. I like to echo around the shape and then add a few stitches to the shape itself. The purple flower above and the pink flower below are both examples of this.

When quilting applique’ shapes there will be areas that you will want to leave unquilted. This is perfectly fine as long as the area is not too large. Remember that equal density in the overall look of the quilt is very important. The unquilted areas of the appliqué’ will be the first place that your eye is drawn to when viewing the quilt. Leaving too large an area unquilted may result in unnecessary wear and damage . I always think of the “Sun Bonnet Sue” quilts that I see in the antique shops that I visit. The arms and bonnets of these blocks were often left without any quilting. The fabric in these areas is always worn away and needs replacing.

As always, you should always do what you think will work best on your particular quilt. Always strive for the best outcome. I would enjoy seeing how you have quilted your hand appliqué’ blocks and borders. Send me a picture, along with your tips.

#quiltapplique #longarmmachinequilting #sewing