Needle turn applique

eeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!!!!!!! Debra, i understand how you feel. could it be doing this on your own without someone there to give those tips and advice has left you with a less than 'galloping horse' result? there is more than one way to get a hand needleturn look to your work to your work. i use the double interface method myself. others swear by the backbasting method. others prefer freezer paper on top or bottom. dont quit til you try different methods as one might suit you better than another. grrrrrrr, dh is calling me to make some potato salad now so i'll try to get back online after dinner and find a few links to check out those methods. in the meantime, just put it down and dont worry bout it for now. you've got the best resource for anything quilty right here in your own home.....RCTQ. we've got heaps of help and ideas. so dont give up yet. ok ok, i'm coming dh. geez, hes impatient today. cheers from summer in the south pacific, jeanne

I just hemmed the pieces I needed and stitched them to the background afterward. No big. Just frustrated by my futile attempt at a new to me technique. Mom showed it to me earlier, so it wasn't lack of understanding how. My problem was that I ended up being able to see where I had stopped to tuck under each little bit as I went, leaving me with slight inverted scallops along the applique edge. Yech! I've now got them sewn without the ruffled edges. I hope reverse applique is easier. That is the next technique I plan on trying. So far I have three ways to do applique that I enjoy, but it's worth exploring the others to see if I like them.

Debra in VA See my quilts at

I do my applique using freezer paper.

I trace the pattern onto the dull side of the freezer paper and cut it out to the finished size, iron it onto the wrong side of fabric, and cut out the fabric approx 1/4" bigger. Then I turn the fabric under the freezer paper and baste in place. On the 'fat' curves I gather the fabric with a small line of running stitches (as you would for a yo-yo or circle) and pull up gently till it fits snuggly round the curve. the concave curves I carefully snip making sure I don't go too near the freezer paper. (I do keep a bottle of fray check handy just in case I am over zealous with my snipping, especially on acute angles like a heart top.

Doing it like this I have a nice firm evenly turned in shape to applique on, with a well defined edge. When the applique piece is stitched down I carefully slit the background fabric and remove the freezer paper. Then I trim the background fabric back to about 1/4" of the stitching to remove the bulk. (If the Quilt Police aren't looking I start stitching the applique piece on a straight line, and just before I reach the beginning point I use a pair of tweezers to whip out the freezer papers, and don't bother to cut the backing!)

The bit I like best about the method is that all the turning in is done before you start stitching, so you can make sure there are no stopping and turning under wobbles, and I also like having the firm edge right up to the end which makes the curves crisp and the straight lines straight.

The one thing you have to remember with this method is that the pattern will be reversed, so it it matters trace a reversed image onto the freezer paper.

It took me more than a couple of tries to do this well enough to let anyone else see it. Applique is still not my favorite thing, but IMO needleturn is still much easier than fiddling with paper templates or backing eensy pieces with interfacing. For BIG applique pieces, of course, backing and turning is the way to go! Roberta in D

"Debra" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I had trouble with needle-turn at first too, then realized I was trying to make the seam allowance too small. I made the seam allowance bigger and that worked much better for me.

On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 05:19:20 -0600, Valerie in FL wrote (in article ):

Me too. I need a fairly sizeable seam allowance to get smooth needleturn. Once I figured that out, I really began to love the technique.

Maureen

I haven't done you method yet. I keep thinking that removing the paper and sewing the back closed again is just too much trouble. I don't bother cutting anything to remove bulk in the top either because I worry it will just be a problem from raveling later as the quilt ages from use and washings.

I have tried the method where you sew two pieces of fabric together and turn it before you sew it to the background. It works all right for some pieces, but not for small or pointy pieces. I have used fusibles both on the whole applique piece and just at the edges, but didn't like the stiff feel of the applique once it was done. I have also used glue sticks to try to hold the edges folded under long enough to sew the pieces, but it was a sticky business so haven't tried that again.

I don't mind hand hemming the individual pieces and sewing them down by hand or machine because I can get the smooth edges, pointy points, and soft feel I want. I also like to simply cut out the pieces without seam allowance, glue stick them to the background, and machine satin stitch around them for the same reason. The only time I use freezer paper currently is to stabilize my background fabric for machine applique.

I've got to agree with you about having all the edges turned under and ready before stitching them onto the background. Trying to get them turned nicely while stitching is just irritating. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Have you tried hand hemming your pieces? No paper or interfacing needed. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Hmm...maybe I'll give it another try at a later date with a bigger seam allowance. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Val, Maureen and Debra, i'm curious... what size seam allowance on applique do you use now? half awake in the south pacific, jeanne

Well, if I have to turn the edge under anyway, seems easier to just applique as I go! Don't you then need to remove the hemming stitches? Roberta in D

"Debra" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Mom feels the same way your do. She can also deal with tinier things than I can since her hands much smaller than mine. She can turn under less than 1/8th inch with needleturn. I tried, but it is just too tiny for me to deal with. The fabric just won't fold for me. I can't seem to get the hang of using the needle to push the fabric under, so I spent most of the time with the needle going through the fabric rather than just pushing the edge under. What little I did get to fold under was scalloped and messy looking. Since I couldn't get the needle to fold the fabric nicely I frustratedly tried another tactic, the best I could do was to sew a few stitches, park the needle, tuck under a small section using my fingernails, finger press the fold, stitch a few stitches, and repeat. Way too fiddly and equally poor results.

When using the hemming method you only remove the hem if you wish to. I match up my thread and fabric so well that the tiny running stitches pretty much disappear so I leave most of mine as they are. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Have you tried using an iron-on stabiliser on the back of the pieces, and basting the edges down around the stabiliser shape?

I then sew many of the pieces together off the quilt (eg. All the pieces for one flower head) before I "arrange" them on the quilt. It means the bulk of my time and effort is put into preparation and arrangement, but sewing it onto the block or quilt is very easy so I get a good even stitch rhythm when doing the applique.

As I do a lot of my applique onto pre-quilted blocks (or even whole quilts) it also minimises the time I have to manhandle the entire bulk of the piece - a big advantage when temps are over 100F like right now!

This method also helps with many of the very thin pointy shapes needed as it is easy to flip seams allwances and get everything just right before stitching it down.

Debra, What needle were you using. This could be part of the problem. I can't get a regular sewing needle to work well--they are too short and too fat. Try an applique needle--they are long and very thin. Gen

Debra in VA See my quilts at

On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:43:32 -0600, nzlstar* wrote (in article ):

I just kind of eyeball it, so I couldn't tell you for sure. somewhere around

1/4 inch I guess, but maybe bigger. I go with whatever looks like I can handle it.

Maureen

Gen, I use what most quilters would laughingly call a crow bar, a size #7 needle. I like a long, thick needle so they don't get bent easily and will hold four of five running stitches in spite of my large fingers. Mom can't figure out how I am making neat tiny stitches with a needle that size, her preference is a short #10 or 11. Debra in VA See my quilts at

I was trying for about 1/8 inch on the needleturn. When I hem the pieces I just try to eyeball it and I call it a fat 1/4 inch. Debra in VA See my quilts at