Fusible Applique Tips

Published: Thu, 01/15/15

Fusible Applique Tips
Hi ,

It's time for our butterflies to take flight! This week we're learning about fusible applique, the method of construction used to create the butterflies for the Dancing Butterfly Quilt.

Fusible applique is a fun technique that can be used in a variety of ways to create beautiful quilts with intricate designs. While it's largely considered a time saving technique, there are a few steps that you definitely don't want to skip so your fabric shapes turn out the right size and are less prone to fraying on the edges.

My Cup Runneth Over
Learning about this new technique also begs the question - When should you pick this technique? On what types of quilts does it work particularly well?

I've also shared a second article When to Use Fusible Applique to explain when fusible web is a good choice for quilt construction.

Of course, we've only learned how to fuse the fabrics and cut them out. Next week we will learn how to finish the raw edges with satin stitching. I'm also excited to share some alternatives to satin stitching if you're in the mood to stitch your butterflies up a notch with extra decorative stitching!

Quilting Duchess Reigns with a New Perspective
Duchess Reigns Quilt
After Christmas I felt an overwhelming urge to return to Duchess Reigns, a huge wholecloth quilt I started back in 2012.

I got bogged down with this project more than a year ago because it was so time consuming to quilt, and the progress so slow.

For the past three weeks I've worked tirelessly on this quilt and knocked out the entire third corner.

One thing that is helping immensely is I'm shooting a photo every evening of the section I've quilted and I compare it to the photo shot from the day before. 

Using photos this way, I'm able to see my progress, however slow. Just being able to see this progress has really helped my attitude and resolve to finish this quilt this year. I also shot a quick Casual Cam video for you to see some quilting and hear about my new perspective on this project.

New Free Motion Quilting Designs!
Nexus Maze
Back by popular demand, we are continuing with the Free Motion Quilting Project designs! Working on Duchess Reigns has certainly jump started my creativity.

This week I've shared a new design called Nexus Maze, which looks as cool as it sounds! This design starts in the center of your quilting space and flows outward, forming a circular maze like design.
Slash Star Block
Just to see what would happen, I basted a Slash Star from the Building Blocks Quilt and quilted Nexus Maze radiating from the center. The effect is super cool and definitely works on both a large and small scale.


So that's it for this week! I hope you're having a lovely January and all set to create beautiful quilts this year.

Let's go quilt!

Leah Day