Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Practice makes perfect

Since I'd never ever tried applique before, I thought it would be prudent to have a litttle practice before butchering the beautiful fabrics! And here is what I produced.


This is machine applique using a zig zag stitch as I think the applique stitch on my machine is rubbish, does anyone have any advice on stitch length etc for this? And the base fabric puckered a bit, is this because I didn't necessarily lift the foot every time I pivoted or should I use a stabiliser at the back? Oooh, this is so new to me!!!!

I might tried some hand applique and see which one I like best.

Any constructive criticism is more than welcome!

5 comments:

Barb Johnson said...

I love machine applique! My sewing machine (Pfaff) has a beautiful blanket stitch, and with my open-toe applique foot, it's really easy! It has an auto-lift on the presser foot when in the "needle down" position, which makes applique a breeze. Thus, I can make those small pivots with ease. I recommend raising your foot for those pivots, always! Stabilizer behind your project will be very helpful too in keeping your work laying flat.

Trudi said...

I agree with Barb, lift your foot for the pivots every time, my bernina has needle up/down on the foot, a knee lift (which I don't get on with) but using the presser foot for needle position helps save time. On satin stitch I have found a stitch width of about 3 - 3.5 mm is good, but it's a great idea to play to see what you like. I also set my stitch length to about 0.3 which gives not too close a stitch that it's bunched up but a smooth line of stitches. It also depends on the thread you use too! Play around to see what you like, including the different stitches on your machine, blanket stitch and blind hemming stitches work well too!

The Calico Cat said...

definitely try a stabilizer. Also you may have tension issues.

Cheryl Arkison said...

I echo the previous comments. Definitely a stabilizer (I use wonder under). And thread choice will make a difference.

Also, when you pivot, pivot when your needle is on the outside of the curve, not the inside. It makes a smoother line.

Doris said...

Lift your foot with needle down as these ladies have said, also loosen your top needle tension a number...and use a longer stitch length and maybe narrower stitch width...good start, though!