How to Make Appliques for Children's Clothing

Expensive boutique children's clothing is often eye-catching, unique, and expensive-looking because of appliques. A plain shirt can be transformed into something special and attention-grabbing if it has an adorable little hand-crafted applique on the front. Simple appliques are not that hard to make with only a basic sewing machine and a little sewing knowledge. Use these directions and your imagination to start creating special clothing for your little ones. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A clothing item you want to applique (try a t-shirt to start)
• Scraps of fabric in the colors you want your applique to be
• Sew-through, iron-on transfer webbing
• Sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch
• Good quality sewing thread in colors to match the applique fabric
• Iron-on tear-away stabilizer

How to Make Appliques for Children's Clothing

1. Decide on a design for the applique. Go with a very simple, basic design. Look through children's picture books or coloring books for ideas.

2. Draw or trace the design on the white paper backing of the transfer webbing. Cut out the applique. If the design has more than one piece, label what each piece is. (For example, the "train front" and "train back"). Cut out each section.

3. Decide what color fabric to use for each section and iron the sections onto the wrong side of fabric scraps of that color. Do not remove the paper backing yet. Follow the manufacturer's directions on the transfer webbing when ironing.

4. Carefully cut the fabric pieces out around the transfer webbing. You should now have all the applique pieces cut out with the paper backed webbing still attached.

5. Peel the paper off of the applique pieces. Carefully arrange the pieces on the clothing to assemble the applique and iron the pieces on. The transfer side should be facing down.

6. Cut out a square of tear-away stabilizer at least 2 inches wider in size all the way around than your applique. Iron the stabilizer onto the wrong side of the clothing directly behind the applique.

7. Using a tight zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine, carefully stitch around all of the rough edges of your fabric applique. The zig-zag stitch should enter the applique about an eighth of an inch from the edge and end just past the edge of the applique. Use thread that blends well with your fabric. If you are using several colors of fabric, change thread between each fabric change.

8. When stitching is complete, clip all threads and tear away the excess stabilizer on the back of the clothes.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure your designs are very simple. Designs with just one or two pieces look better when finished than more complex ones.
• Simple animals make very cute appliques.
• Hand stitch buttons or ribbons on for interest.

[loiseau02]

on 3/4/2008 Very Informative. I have been wanting to start doing this. Thanks so much!!!