WHOLE CLOTH QUILTS WITH APPLIQUE…..and more.

Applique can be free form or follow a specific pattern layout.  Appliques can be adhered to the background by many methods.  Traditionally applique was a hand stitching technique that was deemed perfect when you could not see the stitches on the edges of the patches that apply it to the background fabric.  Today, we have so many tools at our disposal that make it easier and faster to produce applique patches.  These applique patches can be on a specific quilt block or placed randomly across a whole cloth background or on a ready made project (shirt, jacket, skirt, table cloth, etc.)

I like to use my machines as much as I can rather than produce handwork.  My handwork is inconsistent in quality whereas my Janome offers precision stitching.  We can also use machines to cut  applique shapes.  Janome ‘s Artistic Edge Digital Cutter  will cut applique pieces precisely to any shape we want.  We can then choose to hand stitch, decorative stitch, fuse, or embroider over the top of the appliques to adhere them to the background.

Whole cloth quilting traditionally uses one piece of cloth for the top of the quilt with only the stitches creating the decorative designs.  Today, quilters are re-defining the meaning of whole cloth quilting and now include applique and embellished items to be added to the quilt top along with the stitches to create a design.  Machine embroidery enthusiasts take this one step further and use the embroidery hoop on the machine in combination with using placement templates to create perfect alignment of stitch designs to add another layer of interest to the whole cloth appliqued quilt.

I use my Janome MC 15000 to quilt my projects incorporating many different techniques on one quilt.

When quilting a whole cloth design I try to use different densities of stitches to create interest in the quilt top.  Making all stitches exactly the same detracts from what I am trying to accomplish.  I may do free motion quilting, machine embroidery quilt designs in the hoop, and regular sewing stitches in combination to create the all over design I want to produce.  I will also stitch directly over the top of my applique to help adhere the applique further and still be able to see the applique components.

This is an example of multiple types of stitches used to create a whole cloth applique quilt.

 

Have you considered using multiple techniques on any one project to see how blending different stitch styles can create a more interesting project? You might like to use your Janome products to help you get the creative design you desire.