How to Make Appliques for Children's Clothing

Satin stitch appliques to fabric with a matching or contrasting color thread.

Plain kids' clothes become child chic with the addition of appliques. Making appliques for children's clothing requires basic equipment and fabric scraps. Create patterns for appliques from simple designs such as cookie cutters, children's coloring book drawings or other outline drawings. Felt, cotton or cotton blend woven fabrics are the most easily applied as appliques. These types of fabric do not stretch out of shape during machine or hand stitching to a garment and they are not heavy, weighing down the fabric of the garment to which they are applied.

Things You'll Need

• Pattern
• Fabric
• Pencil
• Paper
• Fusible webbing
• Scissors
• Iron

Instructions

1. 

   Add appliques to plain onesies to make designer baby clothes.

   Make an applique pattern. Trace a line drawing or other basic drawing to paper. Cut out the pattern.

2. Place the applique pattern on the fusible webbing with the paper side of the webbing down. Using a pencil, draw around the edges of the pattern onto the webbing.

3. Cut the fusible webbing on the drawn lines.

4. Place the fusible webbing cutout onto your fabric. The fabric is right side down and the webbing is paper side up. If the fabric is woven, make certain to place the cutout so the design is cut on the straight grain instead of the bias of the fabric. Cutting on the bias allows fabric to stretch out of shape.

5. Iron the fusible webbing cutout to the fabric. Cut the fabric, following the outline of the webbing cutout. The applique is now ready for your garment. Simply remove the paper backing and iron into place. Stitch around the edges with a zigzag, blanket or satin stitch.

Tips & Warnings

• Wash and iron fabrics before using them for appliques to make certain they will not shrink after they are applied to garments.

References

• Make Baby Stuff: Free Applique Patterns and Instructions for Baby Applique
• Its Sew Karren: Making and Sewing Appliques by Hand or Machine Embroidery

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Windstar Machine Embroidery Designs: Applique Tutorial for Machine Embroidery
• Free Applique: Free Applique Patterns