What's Under the Needle?

My September Stitch Along W3

Posted by Ruth on 22 September 2014 | 0 Comments

Tags: stitch along

This weekend it was time to add some applique. If you missed the rules, check back here: Stitch Along week 3 rules. Can you guess which element I used? I liked all three but decided to go with the dragonfly so that's what I did.

First I drew up the shapes onto fusible webbing - the paper side. I just drew by eye.

I decided to use the green fabric from my selection - thinking of you Mum! 

I cut out the pieces and thought the tail was around the wrong way, meaning, the larger piece of the tail should be next to the body instead of the end. No problem, I just swapped it around after I had cut out the pieces. Then I removed the paper and pressed it into position on the background.

Time to layer the piece ready for stitching. I like doing my stitching through all the layers so I'm actually quilting it as I go.

I had a heap of hand dyed white on white fabric so thought I'd use this for the backing.

But really I preferred the other side so this is what will be showing :)

Now for the layering. I used a cotton batting which I much prefer especially for these small projects as the layers stick together and I find there is no need to pin. Now I'm ready to begin the stitching.

I selected a lime green thread to match the dragonfly and used free-motion stitching to go around each shape, just on the top of it. As I finished each shape, I dragged the thread over to the next. This saves a lot of time, not to mention thread.

Once the stitching is completed, then I trim close to fabric, but you can only do this if you have successfully secured the ends. I do several small stitches together to lock them off. Note: these shouldn't be on top of each other as that only makes an unsightly knot on the back. Better to have tiny ones very close together which makes them impossible to unravel.

Do remember to trim the back too! Here's how it looks with the threads trimmed.

I used a darker thread around the edge of all the shapes to finish off. This outlines each piece nicely.

That's it for another week. Next weekend we will add some quilting and finish off. See you then!

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