About Sewing Appliques
Appliques serve as decorations for fabric items, such as quilts, baby blankets, clothing, hats and tote bags. The name comes for the French word for applied, since appliques are an extra layers of material that are applied on top of the main fabric. Appliques can function as a simple accent, such as the poodle on a poodle skirt, or can be the main decorative feature, such as a design on a quilt.
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Types
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The two main types of appliques include those that are ready made, and appliques custom made from fabric. Ready made appliques, which are sometimes called patches, are available in most fabric stores or through online specialty shops. Although many ready made appliques come with an iron-on backing, they can also be sewn on for extra durability. These types of appliques often work well for letters or detailed designs, or as quick and easy decorations for clothing or bags. Fabric appliques work best for quilts and custom designs.
Features
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Ready made appliques usually have an embroidered picture, while custom appliques use layers of fabric. Stores often sell ready made appliques that feature flowers, hearts, fruits, letters and numbers, animals, sports logos and popular children's characters. Sewing enthusiasts may get patterns for appliques from sewing or quilting books, or they may draw and cut their own designs. They may also use several different colors, shades or patterns of fabric in the applique to create the look they want.
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Benefits
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Ready-made appliques are a simple way to add a special accent to a sewing project. They're available in a wide variety of designs, and easy to attach. Making a quilt by sewing appliques is often simpler than using patchwork, especially for designs that require curves, complex pictures or overlapping elements. Looking for just the right applique designs, or designing them from scratch, can be a fun part of sewing.
Size
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Most ready made appliques range in size from less than 1 inch square to 5 inches across. Appliques for tote bags and skirts are typically larger than those for hats or simple accents. The size of fabric appliques depends on the preferences and skills of the designer, and may range from 1/4 inch to over a foot across. Fabric appliques may also use several layers of different sizes. For example, a flower applique for a quilt may use separate pieces for the petals, stem and leaves, and a center that goes on top of the petal pieces.
Considerations
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To attach a fabric applique, sewing enthusiasts can use several techniques. They may simply cut out pieces of fabric, position them on the main fabric and sew around the edges using a zigzag stitch to prevent raveling. They may also use fusible web to iron the applique in place before sewing around the edges or use no-sew fusible web. For larger appliques that require finished edges, they may turn the edges of the applique under or place the applique and another piece of fabric or fusible interfacing right sides together, sew them together, then turn applique right side out and attach it to the main fabric.
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