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Fabric Appliqué – Part 3

Welcome back! We have arrived at the last part in this series of fabric appliqué tutorials. If you are just finding my blog, you can find the first two parts of this series here: Part 1 and Part 2. Last week I talked about preparing your background fabric, laying out the appliqué motif and stitching. This week, we get into how to make stems for projects with floral appliqué. Let’s get started.

Making Stems

A great deal of fabric appliqué projects have stems in the motifs. There are a lot of ways to make stems, whether they are straight or curved in the design. My method is to use strips cut on the bias so that is the method I will cover here. Here are a few of my appliqué projects that contain stems.

In Winterberry Glow on the left, all the stems are curvy. For Blooming Star on the right, there is a combination of some curved and some straight stems.

I like to use bias cut strips so if I want to curve a stem on a project, it’s more pliable. However if your project only has straight stems for the floral appliqués, you can cut and use only straight strips if you prefer.

Anyway, here’s how you cut bias strips and make stems.

Step 1: To cut bias strips first lay out your piece of fabric on the cutting mat, with the width of the fabric running horizontally,  and align the 45 degree line of your ruler with the bottom edge of the fabric.

My photo on the left is a bit cut off but the fabric I used was a fat 1/8 (9 x 20″) and I have the 20″ side running horizontally, facing me. That is the edge where I placed the ruler (photo on right).

Now using your rotary cutter, make the first cut and then cut strips, on a 45 degree angle, the width required for the design. 

Cut the strips 1/2″ wider than the stem width you want. For example, if you want stems that are 1/4″ wide, you will need to cut strips that are 3/4″ wide. If you want stems 1/2″ wide you will need to cut strips 1″ wide.

Step 2: To make stems from these strips, the long sides of the strips need to be folded in 1/4″ on each side. I like to use a tool called a bias tape maker. Here’s what my old one looks like:

To use the tape maker you slide the fabric strip, wrong side up, into the wider end of the tool until the end of the strip starts to come out the narrow end. You will notice that the sides of the strip are folding in. Start pulling the strip through and iron the folds of the strips closed to crease them, making the strip the stem width you want. There are different sizes of bias tools to make different widths of stems.

Here is what the stem will look like when you are done:

To secure the sides of the stem in place, especially if you are making a lot of stems, you can use a few dots of Roxanne’s Glue Baste-it on the wrong side of the strip inside the folds.

As I discussed in last week’s post, stems are usually positioned and stitched down first when you have a floral appliqué project. Because of this, it’s a good idea to make all the stems you need for a project first before laying out the design.

Here’s my mini video on making stems from fabric strips:

Hopefully, actually watching the process of making the stems helps you to understand my written instructions above.

Stitching Points and Inside Corners

Most people just learning to appliqué, and even some experienced stitchers, have trouble with stitching points and inside corners. I found that this is the question most asked when I am teaching an appliqué class. Because it’s often asked, I decided to make a short mini tutorial video on stitching that includes points and inside corners. It’s easier to demonstrate than to explain in words, so hopefully this helps you understand this part of appliqué stitching.

Of course, this is just the way I handle the points and inside corners. Feel free to search out other quilter’s ideas on handling these. The more information you gather will serve to strengthen your skills in this area!

So that’s the end of my mini tutorial for fabric appliqué. I hope I inspired some of you who haven’t done it to try. Like anything, practice “makes perfect”. Perhaps your appliqué won’t look perfect, I know mine doesn’t even now after 30 years, but it will get better and better the more you do it.

Next week’s Blog

Next week, I will be busy at a quilt show in Omaha NE starting on Thursday, July 31st. I have decided to do a post on setting up for a show including all the work that goes into creating a fun display for shoppers. Just a little break from the usual post I do. I hope you enjoy that look into what I do! If you are near or in Omaha this coming weekend, come on by the Omaha Quilters’ Guild Show at the Scott Conference Center and say “hi”.

For this week, don’t forget to leave a comment or ask a question below to be entered into the drawing for my pattern, High Prairie Blooms.

The drawing will be on Monday, August 4th.***We have a winner! Congrats, Lynn Telke!***

Happy Quilting & Stitching
Deanne

Needle-turn Hand Appliqué – Part 3

Welcome back for the final installment of my needle-turn hand appliqué series. Glad I didn’t frighten you off! LOL! If you are just joining me, you can read the other installments here: Part 1 and Part 2. In those parts I covered my favorite tools, tips on using templates, preparing the appliqués for stitching, preparing the background and motif layout, and stitching.

Now in this final installment, I will cover how to make stems for your projects from bias strips and how to stitch difficult areas like points and inside corners. Let’s go!

Making Stems from Bias Strips

A lot of appliqué projects include floral appliqué motifs. Because of this, it’s a good idea to know how to make stems from strips of fabric. Here’s a few of my  projects that include stems made from strips.

Both of the quilt projects above include straight and curved stems. I use bias cut strips so if I want to curve a stem on a project, the bias strip makes the stems more pliable. However if your project only has straight stems for the floral appliqués, you can cut and use just straight strips if you prefer.

Here’s the steps to cut bias strips and make stems:

Step 1: To cut bias strips first lay out your piece of fabric on the cutting mat, usually with the width of the fabric running horizontally, and align the 45 degree line of your ruler with the bottom edge of the fabric.

The fabric I used for this example is a fat 1/8 (9 x 20″) and I have the 20″ side running horizontally, facing me. Then I place the 45 degree line of the ruler on that horizontal edge (photo on right).

Now using your rotary cutter, make the first cut and then cut strips, on a 45 degree angle, the width required by the project.

Cut the bias strips 1/2″ wider than the stem width you want. For example, if you want stems that are 1/4″ wide, you will need to cut bias strips that are 3/4″ wide. If you want stems 1/2″ wide you will need to cut bias strips 1″ wide.

Step 2: To make stems from the bias strips, fold in the long sides of the strip 1/4″ in on each side. I like to use a tool called a bias tape maker. Here’s what mine looks like:

To use the tape maker you slide the fabric strip, wrong side up, into the wider end of the tool until the end of the strip starts to come out the narrow end. You will notice that the sides of the strip are folding in. Start pulling the bias strip through and press to keep the folded sides closed, making the strip the stem width you want. There are different sizes of bias tools to make different widths of stems.

Here is the completed stem:

To secure the sides of the stem in place, especially if you are making a lot of stems, you can use a few dots of Roxanne’s Glue Baste-it on the wrong side of the strip inside the folds.

As I discussed in last week’s post, stems are usually positioned and stitched down first when you have a floral appliqué project. Because of this, it’s a good idea to make all the stems you need for a project first before laying out the design.

Here’s my mini video tutorial on making stems for a project:

I made this video for those among us who are more visual learners and need to see a technique demonstrated. Hope it helps!

Stitching Points and Inside Corners

Many quilters just learning to appliqué (and even some experienced stitchers) have trouble with stitching points and inside corners. I found that this is the question most asked when I am teaching an appliqué class. Because of this, I decided to make a short mini tutorial video on stitching that includes points and inside corners. It’s easier to demonstrate than to explain in words, so hopefully this helps you understand this part of appliqué stitching.

 

I hope the video helps give you an idea how I handle these areas on an appliqué motif. Feel free to search out other’s tips on this. 

So that’s a wrap on this series on needle-turn hand appliqué. I hope you learned some new tips and are inspired to do some stitching! Leave a comment or ask questions below and you will be entered into the drawing for my pattern, Winterberry Glow and some appliqué supplies.

The drawing will be on Monday, July 17th. Good luck!**We have a winner! Congrats, Mary Borocz!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Loving Needle-turn Hand Appliqué – Final Part

Welcome back to my appliqué series… glad I haven’t scared you off! My purpose in doing this series and my mini video tutorials is to show that needle-turn hand appliqué is actually easier than most people think. If you get done with this series and still don’t want to try it or decide that you’ll stick with raw edge machine appliqué, that’s OK… no judgements! But, if I have converted a few of you to appliqué fans, then my time was well spent.

If you are just joining me, you can find part 1 of this series here and part 2 of this series here. This week, I will talk about how to make stems from strips of fabric and how to stitch points and inside corners on an appliqué piece. Let’s get started!

Making Stems

For floral appliqué projects you can have stems that are straight or curved. This project below has a combination:

You can cut straight fabric strips for the straight stems and then cut bias fabric strips to make the curved stems, but generally I just cut all my stems for a project like this from bias strips. The only time I will cut all straight fabric strips is if all the stems in my project are straight with no curves. Here are the steps for cutting bias fabric strips:

Step 1: To cut bias strips, first lay out your piece of fabric on the cutting mat and align the 45 degree line of your ruler with the bottom edge of the fabric.

Now using your rotary cutter, make the first cut and then cut strips on a 45 degree angle the width required for the design. 

Cut the strips 1/2″ wider than the stems width you want. For example, if you want stems that are 1/4″ wide, you will need strips that are 3/4″ wide or if you want stems 1/2″ wide you will need strips 1″ wide.

Step 2: To make stems from these strips, the long sides of the strips need to be folded in 1/4″ on each side. I like to use a tool called a bias tape maker. Here’s what my old one looks like:

To use the tape maker, you slide the fabric strip into the wider end of the tool until the end of the strip starts to come out the narrow end. You will notice that the sides of the strip are folding in. Start pulling the strip through and iron the folds of the strips to crease them making the strip the stem width you want. There are different sizes of bias tools to make different widths of stems.

Here is what the stem will look like when you are done:

To secure the sides of the stem in place, especially if you are making a lot of stems, you can use a few dots of Roxanne’s Glue Baste-it on the wrong side of the strip inside the folds.

Like I discussed in last week’s post, stems are usually positioned and stitched down first when you have a floral appliqué project. 

Here’s the mini video on making stems from fabric strips:

Stitching Points and Inside Corners

Most people just learning to appliqué, and even some experienced stitchers, have trouble with stitching points and inside corners. I found that is the question most asked when I am teaching an appliqué class. Because it’s often asked, I decided to make a short mini tutorial video on stitching that includes points and inside corners. It’s easier to demonstrate than to explain in words, so hopefully this helps you understand this part of appliqué stitching.

So that’s it for my appliqué series! I hope by reading these posts the last three weeks and watching my mini tutorial videos you have a better understanding of needle-turn hand appliqué and you want to try it! Leave a comment or ask questions below and you will be entered into the drawing for my appliqué prize kit:

The drawing will be next Monday, October 4th. Good luck! **We have a winner! Congrats, Sally Garon!**

Happy Quilting & Stitching!
Deanne

Time to Appliqué – Final Installment

Welcome back! This is the final installment of my appliqué series. If you’re just finding me, here is part 1 and part 2. I hope you have enjoyed my mini tutorial on needle-turn appliqué and I hope it inspires you to try it if you haven’t already! This week, I will finish up with a tutorial on making stems and also how to stitch points and inside corners. Let’s get started!

Making Stems

Many, many appliqué projects have floral motifs that include stems. Some patterns have straight stems (left) and some have curved (right). 

You can just cut straight strips and follow the instructions below to make stems if your project only has straight stems. But, if your project has curved stems you will need to make them from bias cut strips to make the stems more pliable. If I have a project that has both curved and straight stems, I just cut all my strips on the bias to save time.

Step 1: Cutting the bias strips. First, lay out your chosen stem fabric on your cutting mat as shown and align the 45° line of your long (24″) ruler with the bottom of the fabric (the arrow in the photo is pointing to the 45° line):

Now, using the rotary cutter, make your first cut. Then measure and cut out the amount of strips you need. If you need stems longer than the strips produced, you may have to stitch a few strips together before preparing them into stems.

Cut your strips 1/2″ wider than your desired stem width. For example, if you want 1/4″ stems, cut your strips 3/4″ wide.

Step 2: Making the Stems from Strips. To prepare the strips into stems, you have to fold in the strip on both long sides. You can do this by hand, but I prefer to use a bias making tool: 

To use the tool, you slide one end of the strip into the wider end and pull it out the other end. As you are pulling it out, iron the strip to get the sides to stay folded over.

Here’s your stem!

  • Optional tip: If I am making several stems for a project, I like to use a few dots of Roxanne’s Glue Baste-it to keep the sides folded over.

Unless the stems are on top of any part of the applique motif, it’s best to position them on the background and get them stitched in place first before adding any more of the design onto the background. 

Below is my video tutorial on making stems.

Stitching Points and Inside Corners

When I am teaching an appliqué class, this is the trouble spot for most beginners. How do you stitch appliqué pieces with points or inside corners… or both? Since it’s not very simple to explain it in just words, I have this mini tutorial video to demonstrate stitching points and inside corners. Hopefully, this video will help you with this.

So, that’s it for this week! This is the end of the series. Next Monday, November 9th, I will choose 3 commenters over this whole series who will get my pattern Scrappy Gardens:

….and, there will be one grand prize winner who will receive my appliqué starter kit that includes needles, Roxanne’s glue and a Sewline pencil!

Leave your comment or question below to enter the drawing. You can comment on all three blogs and get 3 entries! Like I said above, the drawing will be on Monday, November 9th. ***We have a grand prize winner! Congrats, Kathy in WV. Also congrats to pattern winners: Janet, Edith and Christie***

Happy Quilting & Stitching!
Deanne

Applique Tips Part 3 – Making Stems

So now that you have the leaves, flowers and other templates traced and ready to go, it’s time to make stems. I like to cover making stems because so many applique projects include floral motifs that have stems in the design. 

Tip#1

The type of strip you cut depends on whether your stems need to curve or if they are straight. The photo on the left is of a project with curved stems and the one on the right has straight stems.

For straight stems, cut straight strips. For stems you need to shape into curves, you’ll want to cut strips on the bias. If your project has both straight and curved stems, you can use all bias strips if you like. Here’s how to cut bias strips:

First, lay out your chosen stem fabric on your cutting mat as shown and align the 45° line of your long (24″) ruler with the bottom of the fabric (the arrow in the photo is pointing to the 45° line):

Now, using the rotary cutter, make your first cut. Then measure and cut out the amount of strips you need. If you need stems longer than the strips produced, you may have to stitch a few strips together before preparing them into stems.

Cut your strips 1/2″ wider than your desired stem width. For example, if you want 1/4″ stems, cut your strips 3/4″ wide.

Tip#2

To prepare the strips into stems, you have to fold in the strip on both long sides. You can do this by hand, but I prefer to use a bias making tool: 

To use the tool, you slide one end of the strip into the wider end and pull it out the other end. As you are pulling it out, iron the strip to get the sides to stay folded over.

Here’s your stem!

Tip #3

If I am making several stems for a project, I like to use a few dots of Roxanne’s Glue Baste-it to keep the sides folded over.

Tip #4

Unless the stems are on top of any part of the applique motif, it’s best to position them on the background and get them stitched in place first before adding any more of the design onto the background. 

Below is my video tutorial on making stems. 

 

There’s still time to enter the drawing! I will be drawing a winner for my pattern, High Prairie Blooms, on Friday October 4th. Comment below to be entered.

Never fear though…. the applique tips posts are not ending yet! Come back next week for laying out the design and stitching. ***We have a winner! Congrats, Ariel K.!***

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Applique Tips – How to make stems!

Have you ever admired a quilt with a beautiful appliqué motif and said: “I want to do this!”. Well, I hope you have. Needle-turn hand appliqué has been a passion of mine for almost as long as I have been quilting. Now, I know many of you do not like hand work and are afraid of the “A” word. But you don’t have to be! You can do your appliqué by machine. I just love the added something that appliqué gives to a quilt top, whether it is pieced or just a plain background.

I have done appliqué posts in the past talking about many of the different steps for doing hand appliqué but have never done a full post on making stems. So, here you have it …. a blog post on stems! If you are interested in appliqué instruction from start to finish, consider purchasing my video class Sew on the Go with Needle-turn Hand Appliqué. Once purchased it’s yours to keep forever!

Stems

I like to create my stems from bias cut strips since those are easier to manipulate into curves than straight cut strips. I usually use either a fat quarter or fat eighth depending on how many stems I need. Here is how to cut bias stems.

Press your fabric and lay it on the cutting table as shown:

Align the 45° line of your long (24″) ruler with the bottom of the fabric (the arrow in the photo is pointing to the 45° line):

Now, using the rotary cutter, make your first cut:

Then measure and cut out the amount of strips you need. If you need stems longer than the strips produced, you may have to stitch a few strips together before preparing them into stems.

Cut your strips 1/2″ wider than the width of your finished stem. For example, if you want 1/2″ stems you need to cut your bias strips 1″ wide.

Now it’s time to prepare the strips into stems. To do this, I use a bias tool.  They come in sizes from 1/4″ to 1″. The size of the tool in the finished size of the stem. So, for a 1/2″ stem, we will use a 1/2″ bias tool.

Feed the strip, right side of fabric down, into the larger end of the tool until it comes out the smaller end. When it comes out of the end, the sides of the strip will be folded over as shown. Use the iron press this fold all the way down the strip to make the stem.

When you are done making stems and are ready to put them onto your quilt background, you will affix the stems with the raw edges down. Here’s a project I have in progress to show you how I am shaping the stems:

Stems are usually stitched onto the project first because they are usually covered with flowers and leaves or other parts of the appliqué motif.

Here are a few of my favorite appliqué patterns:

So, that’s making stems! Not very hard to do and they add so much to an appliqué design.

Leave a comment below in this blog post on your favorite type of  appliqué project and win a free pattern for my newest design Summer Serendipity.

 

I will draw for the winner in 2 weeks! **Winner has been chosen** Congrats Sharon Aurora!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne