Is "broderie perse" a fancy word for applique

similar cept you cut sumpin out of a fabric, say a big flower and applique that onto a background rather than having to piece a bunch of tiny pieces to make a flower that you want. just leave enough round the edges of the piece so you can tuck them under. this could be fused down and hand or machine applique'd as well. you can overlap as many of flowers as you like to get the floral display or bouquet you fancy. add some stems and a vase and nearly an instant wallhanging. a bit like making a collage or a single unit is ok too. just what works for you're design.

of course this could be done with any variety of things found on fabric to make up whatever you have in mind.

first word is said like the em'broidery'. perse is like purse. well thats how i say it anyhow. might not work for a southern lad, lol. what did you have in mind for using this method? jeanne

This works very well for bouquets with many flowers or for a border with a vine type effect. It gives you shadings and lots of detail without all the work- as Jeanne said. I have always done it with a fusible and a narrow satin stitch around the edges. Most printed motifs- flowers, animals, etc.- have jagged-y edges and fine detail- like a butterfly's antenna or little curls and tendrils- and that would be rather difficult to turn the edges for regular applique. You can stitch those details with a straight stitch rather than cut them out and turn the edges or even fuse them.

What are you up to now??? VBG You always come up with really cool ideas!

Leslie & The Furbabies > If not, what is the difference?

This month's QNM (May 2007) has a neat article by Alexandra Nickerson on broderie perse. She lets her flowers and birds overflow on to the sashing and finishes their fussy edges with monofilament. I'd like to try her ideas but first must find the matte finish by SewArt. Polly

Thanks. I'm just trying to learn the vocabulary of this new hobby.

Also, while I am waiting to accumulate the fabric for my first watercolor quilt project, I am working on the design. One of the items I ran across was broderie perse and thought it sounded like a good idea to add some depth to the design.

I have machine appliqued only once or twice and neither time did I really like the results. Once I used clear and another time I used smoke. In both cases the mono had a tendency to shine in certain light or angles. I still have some experimenting to do.

Jerry in North Alabama

Well the other told you what it is. I thought I'd add pronunciation the best I can. I am Southern (Virginia), but it looks like a French term. I could be wrong but I've been using something that sounds like: bro-dur-y purse.

Debra in VA See my quilts at

Just a couple of things to add, Jerry, as you enjoy information! It (French) means 'Persian embroidery' (don't know why that name was chosen). It started when our (UK) mills were desperate not to be facing closure if fabric were to be increasingly imported. So the amount imported was limited. In order to 'stretch' the available amount, the ladies would cut out the motifs on the imported fabric and applique them to their home-spun dress fabric. It is pronounced bro (long 'o') - der - ee purse (unless Sandy in Henderson knows a more correct way?). . In message , MaleQuilter writes

Means "Persian embroidery". No idea what it has to do with Persia, except that it was probably an attempt to reproduce fancy crewel embroidery by cutting out big printed flowers and appliqueing them in "Persian" designs.

"Perse" comes out more or less like "pairs". The embroidery part is a buttonhole stitch, done densely enough to cover the edge, which you can leave raw (unturned). So it's basically an applique technique, one of many! Roberta in D

"MaleQuilter" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@b75g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...

Nope, you've done fine with the pronunciation, Pat. If a person wanted to get picky, the "purse" part -- which really is how most of us say it

-- should be done in the French style as "pairs", where the "s" is pronounced as an "s", rather than as a "z". However, as I said, most of us do say it exactly as you explained. So much for the French lesson for today.

Jerry, there is a matte finish invisible thread. It is made by Sew Art Int. I love it. very fine, and very little "shine".

You've already had a number of answers on what broiderie perse is, and how to pronounce it (the way it is spelled.) To put it in some context: Broiderie perse is a type of appliqué, in other words all broiderie perse is appliqué, but not all appliqué is broiderie perse.

For anyone interested in the background of this technique: Very early in our history most fabrics, and virtually all prints, were imported, from England or France (usually). They were not inexpensive. So to get the most from a piece of printed fabric ladies would cut out the motifs and appliqué them to a large piece of, less expensive, solid fabric.

Pati, > Thanks. I'm just trying to learn the vocabulary of this new hobby. >