APPLIQUE AS A SPEED SEW TECHNIQUE

Traditionally, applique was a hand sewing technique.  This was delicate work in which the applique was most valued when you could not see the tiny edge stitches that held the design to the background fabric.

Today, many applique designs are made with the sewing machine.  The standard applique edge stitch is usually a satin stitch that secures the edges of the applique fabric to the background fabric.

Edges of applique fabrics can be easily viewed when using the open toe ‘F-foot’ for our Janome machines.  I like this foot because it is a clear view plastic foot that is easy to see through.

We can also get creative with our applique edge stitches by using all those wonderful decorative stitches built into the Janome machines.  There are many combinations of stitches we can use to enhance the look of the applique design very quickly.

An even quicker way to create an applique is with my Janome Memory Craft 15000 Quiltmaker embroidery machine.  I can quickly stitch a shape and trim and finish it off in the embroidery hoop with any stitch settings I digitize.

 

Janome is in partnership with the OESD embroidery company.  They have many embroidery designs we can choose from for our Janome machines.  When purchasing here we are also giving credit to our local Janome dealers.

I recently downloaded a design from Janome-embroidery.com called Floralicious.   These embroidery designs are listed as being applique designs.  I knew this would be a quick way to create a project.

Even this can be a little slow for me when I am under a deadline to produce a project quickly.  So, I used the Floralicious stitch files and stitched only the stitch design without adding the recommended applique fabrics.  After stitching and assembling the elements into a project, I then used my fabric felt pens to color in selected areas of the design so it looked like it was an applique.  This was very quick and easy to accomplish.

This is what I call my variation of ‘speed applique’ sewing.  Have any of you ever changed a pattern that called for applique and created it in a different way?

JANOME PRODUCTS AND APPLIQUE DESIGNS WORK WELL TOGETHER ESPECIALLY WITH A CREATIVE MIND AT WORK!