I'm so chuffed to be part of this amazing group of quilters. Thank you Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson for including me.
A really good pair of scissors with a sharp point will be your best friend. I love Karen Kay Buckley scissors
The last product I can't live without is "flatter" by the Soak Co. Use this with your perfect circles and when making bias tape. It is a fabric smoothing spray not a starch. You get great crisp edges that hold their shape but the fabric will stay soft and easy to needle.
For those who don't know, I'm one of those crazy hand stitchers. I can feel my blood pressure going down every time I pick up my needle and thread. It's like a giant exhale.
Needle turn appliqué is one of my all time favourite things to do
So here are some of my favourite tools
I'm a template plastic kind of girl but you can make templates from freezer paper, cardboard or laminate paper
I trace around my template onto the right side of my fabric using either a grey lead, ceramic lead or silver gel pen. This is totally dependant on the colour of the fabric as you need to be able to see this line
I use pins or glue to hold my appliqué pieces in place
A size 11 straw or milliners needle is my favourite. They are long and fine. 50 wt cotton thread matching the colour to the fabric you are appliquing. Aurifil have the most wonderful colour selection
I adore circles, spots, dots ...getting the picture. As you can see by the tatty packaging I love and use my "perfect circles" a lot. So quick and easy and they truly give you a perfect circle every time, even the tiny ones
Choosing fabrics is also important for any appliqué project. You need good quality cotton and if you have a piece that frays, pop it back in your stash to use in a pieced project and choose another for your applique
And now a little eye candy for you as a reward for getting to the end of this "dry" post"! This is a little sneak peek of my new range with Moda. It's called MOVING ON and I'm super excited about it. It's printed on lawn and I'm enjoying every minute making samples for its release. It is perfect for appliqué
