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Appliqué
Appliqué means applying a shape of Trace around the motif lightly on the right
fabric onto a background fabric to make a side of the appliqué fabric with a sharp
pleasing design. Appliqué may be done pencil. Cut out the motif, leaving a seam
by hand or by machine. There are many allowance beyond the pencil line. The
ways to accomplish this. Appliqué is seam allowance for appliqué can be as
used in quilt designs and for embellishing small as ⅛-inch for small pieces, and up
apparel or other items for home decor. to 3/16-inch for larger ones.

Designs for appliqué can be found in Freezer Paper Appliqué

many places. Look for pattern inspiration There are two methods for freezer paper
in quilt books and children’s books, such appliqué. They will be referred to as wax
as coloring books, or be creative with side up and wax side down. Freezer
original drawings. paper can be purchased at a grocery
store
PREPARING THE APPLIQUÉ DESIGN
Freezer Paper - Wax Side Up
Whether you choose to appliqué by hand
or machine, preparation of the motifs is Place a piece of freezer paper over the
quite similar. When planning an appliqué appliqué design with the shiny side down.
design with multiple pieces or layers, (The shiny side is the wax side.) Trace
prepare the pieces and apply them from the appliqué design with a sharp pencil.
the background forward. Following are Using paper scissors, cut out the shapes
different ways to prepare an appliqué on the lines. Never use fabric
motif: scissors/shears on paper as it will dull the
blades.

Making/Using a Template
Freezer paper with
After choosing a design, make a template
shiny side down
for each part of the design. To do this,
transfer each part of the design onto stiff
paper, heat resistant plastic, or cardstock Trace
and cut out the actual size of the motif.
Beginners should choose a larger design
with few pieces such as the sample below
(a strawberry).
Using the freezer paper as a guide, cut
the shape from the appliqué fabric adding
a ⅜-inch seam allowance as you cut.
Center the freezer paper on the wrong
side of the fabric shape, shiny side up.
Pin the paper onto the wrong side of your
fabric. A good hint is to apply a little glue

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stick to the dull side of the freezer paper place a slightly damp cloth or towel over
before you apply it to the wrong side of the entire motif. When the freezer paper
the appliqué fabric. This will eliminate the gets damp, it will easily come out.
need to pin. Back of
appliqué

Fabric ⅜-inch seam

allowance wrong side up

OR
Use a hot, dry iron to fold the seam
allowances up and over the freezer
paper.
The seam allowance will stick to the wax
on the freezer paper and leave a sharp, To reduce bulk, trim background fabric
crisp edge for stitching. If there is an from under appliqué. This is especially
inner point, you will need to clip the seam important for a quilt top.
allowance. Also clip the seam
allowances around sharp curves. For
outside points, fold up the point of the Freezer Paper Appliqué - Wax Side
seam allowance before you fold over both Down
sides.
Place a piece of freezer paper over the
appliqué design with the shiny (waxed)
side down. Trace the appliqué design
Freezer paper Press down with a sharp pencil. Cut out the shapes
along the lines - no seam allowances -
using paper scissors.
Place the freezer paper shape on the
wrong side of the fabric with the shiny
side down and press. The paper will stick
to the appliqué fabric.
Iron

Outside Freezer paper

point motif
wax side
Place the prepared motif onto the down
background fabric and press. Again the
wax will stick long enough to appliqué
stitch around it. Wrong side of fabric
Remove the freezer paper after the
design has been stitched down. Cut a slit Cut out the shape, allowing a 3/8-inch
in the background fabric, behind the seam allowance.
appliqué motif, and pull the freezer paper
out. If it is difficult to get the paper out, Clip inside corners and curves. Press the
seams up and over the freezer paper,
making a crease at the line of the motif. It
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helps to add a small amount of spray Arrange the appliqué motif on the
starch to the seam allowances with a background fabric, follow the
cotton swab. Do this, pressing with a manufacturer’s instructions, and press
pressing cloth on your ironing board, as with an iron. This will cause the appliqué
the surface that you are pressing on may motif to stick to the background.
become scorched.
Machine stitch or hand sew with the
blanket stitch around the edges of the
design, and add embellishments if
desired.

PREPARING THE BACKGROUND

FABRIC
After all of the seam allowance is pressed
Make the background fabric larger than
and there is a sharp, crisp crease at the
required for the project. If a 16-inch
motif line, remove the freezer paper. Pin
square of background is needed, make it
or use basting glue to hold the shape in
18 inches. Cut the excess fabric off later.
place on the background fabric.
Fold the background
square in half and press.
Fold it in half again the
Fusible Webbing
other way and press,
Another way to prepare the appliqué for making creases that
machine stitching is to fuse it to the cross at the center, and
background. Fusible webbing is a quick divide the square into
and easy way to bind the appliqué design quarters.
to the background fabric. Fusible Center the complete appliqué pattern
webbing can be found at a fabric store or under the background fabric using the
fabric department. Buy lightweight, pressed background lines as a guide.
sewable fusible webbing. Very lightly trace
some of the pattern lines onto the
Trace the appliqué motif on the paper background. Trace enough to make it
side of the fusible web. The finished clear where to place the appliqué motifs.
appliqué design will be a mirror image of
what is traced. Pressed lines
Cut around the traced design. Do not cut
exactly along the lines of the design at
this point. Follow the instructions that
come with the fusible web. Fuse the web Completed
to the wrong side of the appliqué fabric, appliqué pattern
paper side up and web against the wrong
side of the appliqué fabric. Position the prepared appliqué pieces on
Cut out the design on the tracing lines the background fabric using the markings
and peel the paper off. The fusing web on the background as a guide.
will stay on the wrong side of the fabric.

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HAND STITCHING Needle Turn Appliqué
Needles Hold the background fabric with the
It is good to use a very long, thin needle appliqué in place with the non-sewing
(straw needle) to do needle turn appliqué. hand. Use the needle to turn under the
However, for beginners, a short, thin seam allowance on the motif for about ½
needle is easier to handle and can be inch along the appliqué pieces marked
used. line. Pinch this turned-under seam
allowance with thumb and pointing finger
Thread (same hand). Insert the threaded needle
from underneath through the marked line
Choose a fine cotton or silk thread that is
on the background and at the starting
as close to the color of the appliqué motif
place of the appliqué piece. The starting
as you can get it. It is better to use one
place should be on a straight side, not at
that is slightly lighter in color than to use
a point. Catch the very edge of the fold of
one that is slightly darker. If matching is a
the appliqué with your needle and pull the
problem, one strand of embroidery floss
needle through, giving the thread a gentle
may be a choice.
tug.

Knot the Thread

Appliqué fabric
Thread the needle, knot the thread. To tie
a small knot at the end of the thread,
place the end of the thread along the
needle with its end pointing toward the
hand. Pinch this end of the thread and
Thread and needle
the needle with the needle hand. With
the other hand, wrap the thread around
the needle twice. Squeeze the wrapped Reinsert the needle back into the
thread tightly with the pointing finger and background fabric as close to where it
thumb of the needle hand. Pull the came out as possible. Pull thread all the
wrapped thread to the end of the thread way through until stitch is almost invisible.
to complete the knot. There will be a little Underneath, insert the needle
tail of thread below the knot that will need approximately ⅛-inch forward from your
to be clipped off. first stitch and repeat the appliqué stitch.
Upon getting to the end of the folded
seam allowance, use the needle to turn
under some more seam allowance and
proceed with the next stitch.

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Outside Points Turn under the seam allowance on the
Stitch all the way to the point. Leave the other side of the point. On the point
last stitch loose. Trim the excess seam stitch, take a deeper bite into the point of
allowance that sticks out from under the the appliqué piece with the needle.
point. Turn the other side of the point
seam allowance under with the needle
and tug on the thread to make the point
sharp. Stitch down the other side of the
point.
Outside point

Trim

Insert the needle back under the edge of

the motif two or three threads.

Inside Points
Clip to the motif line through the seam
allowance on the inside point. Give the thread a gentle tug from below.
This will curl the edge of the point under
Cut ever so slightly.

Inside point

Take another small stitch at the point to

secure the threads if it is needed.
Stop stitching one stitch short of the Continue to stitch as usual.
inside point.
Curves
One stitch short
of inside point Concave or inward curves need to be
clipped before turning edges under.
Convex or outward curves will turn easily
when a line of gathering is done in the
seam allowance and pulled up.

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Blanket Stitch Appliqué Avoid starting at an inside or outside
point. Set the stitch length at zero and
The blanket stitch is a fun way to hand make two to three stitches at the
stitch the appliqué motifs. It is best used beginning of the appliqué to secure the
with fusible web. line of stitches. Change the stitch length
to 2.0 to 2.5 (mm), and stitch very close
to the edge of the appliqué motif.
On the inner and outer points, position
the needle down. Lift the pressure foot
and pivot. Lower presser foot and
continue stitching. To finish, reduce the
stitch length again to zero for two to three
stitches to secure the end of the stitching.
MACHINE STITCHING Do not backstitch or overlap the stitches.

Before beginning to machine stitch, it is a Beginning

good idea to place a tear-away stabilizer & ending
between the back of the background
fabric and the feed dog of the machine.
This will keep the appliqué flat as it is
sewn and the stabilizer will tear away
after the stitching is complete.
Pivot at dot
If one is available, use an open-toed
machine presser foot. It is much easier to
see where to stitch with this foot.
Use a size 10 or 12 needle in the
Straight stitch appliqué
machine. Use cotton thread in the
bobbin. There are many choices of
thread to use on top. For a beginner, it is Satin Stitch (close zigzag stitch)
suggested that cotton thread matching
the appliqué to be used. Decorative The satin stitch is a good method to use
threads may be introduced later. on raw-edge fused appliqué motifs.
Change presser foot to a satin stitch foot.
There are many machine stitches that This foot has a groove on the bottom to
can be used in appliquéing the design. allow for the wide stitching. An open-toed
Following are some suggestions. foot will also allow you to see the edge to
be stitched more easily.
Straight Stitch
Use cotton embroidery thread and cotton
Prepare the appliqué as described in the thread in the bobbin. Be sure the color
section Preparing Designs for matches or complements the design.
Appliqué. Position the design on the Use tear away stabilizer, as described.
background fabric as described
previously. Remember to also use a To satin stitch, the machine must be able
stabilizer. to easily shorten and widen the stitch
width. Practice on a scrap of fabric.
Set the machine for a straight stitch.
Begin stitching on a curve of the motif.

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Shorten the stitch length until the stitches Curves
lay very close together. The stitch width
should be set according to the size and To pivot on the outside curve, put the
dimension of the design. If the design is needle into the background fabric. Lift
small, the satin stitch should be narrow. the pressure foot, pivot, lower the foot,
If the motif is large, the satin stitch can be and continue stitching.
wider. On an inside curve, put the needle down
on the appliqué piece, lift the foot, pivot,
lower the foot, and continue.

Satin stitch

Before positioning fabric under the

presser foot, bring the bobbin thread to Pivot at the dots
the surface of the machine. To do this,
hold the top/needle thread and lower the
needle into the machine. Bring the needle
up again and gently tug on the thread to Inner Points
bring bobbin/lower thread loop to the
surface. Pull the bobbin thread all the Continue stitching beyond the point for as
way out to the top. many stitches as your satin stitch is wide.
Lower the needle, lift the pressure foot,
pivot and continue down the other side.
The point stitches will overlap.
Inner point

Hold both threads with your left hand as

you begin to stitch just for a couple of
stitches to prevent loose thread ends Appliqué
motif
from tangling underneath your stitching.
Position the work under the needle. Background
Choose a beginning point very close to fabric
the edge of the appliqué motif. Do not
begin on an inside or outside point, rather Outer Points
on a straight edge or a curve.
Insert the machine needle into the As you come to an outer point, gradually
background fabric at the beginning point. reduce the width of the satin stitch.
Begin to stitch. One side of the Lower the needle at the point. Lift the
zigzag/satin stitch should be just off the pressure foot, pivot, start stitching with
edge of the appliqué fabric and the other narrow stitches, and gradually increase
side of the stitch should be on the the stitch width back to its original width.
appliqué.

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 curve or straight line (not on an inside or
outside point). Stitch along the edge of
Outer point
the appliqué on the background fabric
and the zigzag will take a very tiny bite on
the fold of the appliqué.

To finish the line of stitching and “knot”

threads, switch to a straight stitch. Make
four or five small stitches back along the
inside edge of the zigzag stitches. Clip
the threads.

Blind Stitch To finish, simply overlap the beginning

stitches for about ½ inch. The stitches
The blind stitch is the closest stitch to the will be so tight and small that it will not be
hand appliqué blind stitching. Use a size necessary to lock stitches at the end of
10 to 12 needle and clear nylon thread for the line of stitching.
the bobbin and the needle. Clear thread
is recommended for light-colored fabrics Blanket Stitch
and smoke-colored thread for dark colors.
Select the stitch on the sewing machine There are other stitches that can be used
that does three to four straight stitches to machine appliqué. One of the favorites
and then a zigzag stitch, as shown. is the blanket stitch (as shown below).
-----^-----^-----^ The blanket stitch copies the look of the
handmade blanket stitch used for hand
This stitch may be called the “blind hem appliqué. Many sewing machines have
stitch” in the machine instructions. this stitch as a stitch option. Browse
through the machine’s stitch options.
Adjust the stitch length to approximately Follow the machine manual’s instructions
20 stitches per inch. The stitch width and experiment on fabric scraps.
should be adjusted so that the zigzag Machine appliqué can be fun and fast.
takes a very small bite into the appliqué
shape. (one or two threads) l__l__l__l__l__l
Insert the needle alongside the appliqué
but on the background fabric and on a
References:

Nita Benson, Kentucky Certified Master Clothing Volunteer

Karen Mikel, Kentucky Certified Master Clothing Volunteer
Judy Hetterman, County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences

Prepared by Marjorie M. Baker, M.S.

Extension Associate for Textiles and Clothing
April 2005

Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.