Fusible Machine Appliqué
Fusible Machine Appliqué Fusible machine appliqué is fast and fun, but it has one major drawback. All too often when it is completed it is stiff rather than soft and pliable. This occurs because the fusible material is stiff. The solution is to eliminate as much of the fusible material as possible. Begin by tracing the design on the paper side of your fusible material. For this example, I have used HeatnBond Lite®. Study your pattern carefully. It will be necessary to reverse most patterns. Rough cut around the piece. That is, cut on the outside of the drawn lines.
To create a soft, pliable quilt, we will need to eleminate as much of the fusible material as possible. We do this by cutting out all but a 1/4” of the fusible around the outside edge. Most patterns do not have this 1/4” marked. Just sketch it in by hand. Be sure to draw it on the INSIDE of the pattern line. Large pieces can be very difficult to handle when the center is completely removed. To add stability to the piece, draw crossbars from one side to the other.
This photo shows the 1/4” edge around the inside of the pattern and the crossbars on the large pieces. The butterfly body will hold it’s shape without crossbars.
Copyright ©2015 Connie Sue Haidle. All rights reserved.
1
Cut out the center of each piece, being sure to cut around the cross bars.
Place the fusible on the desired fabric. Following the manufacturer’s directions, fuse the patch to the appliqué fabric being sure to NOT fuse the cross bars. In this picture you can see my hand under the cross bars. After fusing the outside edge, carefully cut away the cross bars.
Trim away excess fabric by cutting directly on the pattern line. These pieces are now ready to fuse to the background fabric. Remove the paper that covers the fusible material.
Place the pattern on a light source. Place the background on the pattern. Pin to paper pattern to prevent slippage. Place the appliqué pieces in the proper position. Pin in place. Lightly draw in any embroidery lines. In this example the butterfly antenna have been drawn on the background.
Copyright ©2015 Connie Sue Haidle. All rights reserved.
2
Fuse the appliqué piece to the background. Allow to cool thoroughly. Now machine stitch around the appliqué patches. Use either a satin stitch or a buttonhole stitch. For the butterflies, I used a 50 wt. thread of the same color as the appliqué piece. I also used a buttonhole stitch. The butterfly antenna were stitched with a satin stitch.
This photo shows the finished butterfly after the quilt has been quilted.
Copyright ©2015 Connie Sue Haidle. All rights reserved.
3
To create a soft, pliable quilt, we will need to eleminate as much of the fusible material as possible. We do this by cutting out all but a 1/4” of the fusible around the outside edge. Most patterns do not have this 1/4” marked. Just sketch it in by hand. Be sure to draw it on the INSIDE of the pattern line. Large pieces can be very difficult to handle when the center is completely removed. To add stability to the piece, draw crossbars from one side to the other.
This photo shows the 1/4” edge around the inside of the pattern and the crossbars on the large pieces. The butterfly body will hold it’s shape without crossbars.
Copyright ©2015 Connie Sue Haidle. All rights reserved.
1
Cut out the center of each piece, being sure to cut around the cross bars.
Place the fusible on the desired fabric. Following the manufacturer’s directions, fuse the patch to the appliqué fabric being sure to NOT fuse the cross bars. In this picture you can see my hand under the cross bars. After fusing the outside edge, carefully cut away the cross bars.
Trim away excess fabric by cutting directly on the pattern line. These pieces are now ready to fuse to the background fabric. Remove the paper that covers the fusible material.
Place the pattern on a light source. Place the background on the pattern. Pin to paper pattern to prevent slippage. Place the appliqué pieces in the proper position. Pin in place. Lightly draw in any embroidery lines. In this example the butterfly antenna have been drawn on the background.
Copyright ©2015 Connie Sue Haidle. All rights reserved.
2
Fuse the appliqué piece to the background. Allow to cool thoroughly. Now machine stitch around the appliqué patches. Use either a satin stitch or a buttonhole stitch. For the butterflies, I used a 50 wt. thread of the same color as the appliqué piece. I also used a buttonhole stitch. The butterfly antenna were stitched with a satin stitch.
This photo shows the finished butterfly after the quilt has been quilted.
Copyright ©2015 Connie Sue Haidle. All rights reserved.
3
