Pink Castle is Closing 😔

Pink Castle Fabric Shop has closed (brick & mortar), the online shop will soon follow. If you'd like to snag some great fabrics at 25% off, please do so soon. Items are selling very quickly. US buyers can get free shipping on orders $100+. I'm so sorry to see this shop disappear---they will be missed.

Heather

Pressing the Melon Seam Allowance: FREEZER PAPER METHOD

Using a craft iron on the highest setting, begin at the right side halfway point and work your way around the melon (orange peel). I actually prefer to use a regular iron for this size and shape. The craft iron is helpful for tiny pieces but definitely not worth the time and cost for this particular size/shape. The end results are no better than the standard iron and usually requires more time.

Using the standard iron, begin on the center right, carefully working your way around the shape counterclockwise. Longer fingernails come in handy here. If you are nervous about getting too close to the iron or are not blessed with longer nails, you can help to stabilize your shape by putting several pins straight down into your ironing board. Be sure not to place pins too close to the tips and seam allowance to avoid melting plastic on your iron.

Some of you may have heard that starch is helpful in keeping the seams in place. However, if you are using freezer paper and starch (or glue/glue stick), your shape will become warped and it may be more difficult to remove the freezer paper. It is an extra step that I find unnecessary and messy but you're free to do whatever you'd like.

When you complete the pressing of several melons, you're ready to begin hand sewing. If you are concerned about centering your melons, press the charm square base in half. Open the charm back up and fold and press in the opposite direction. Be careful if you plan to use directional fabrics (has a definite up and down and/or side to side pattern) for any projects, you'll have a little more planning to do at this point. 

Make sure to avoid the seam allowance 1/4 inch on the background charm fabric. It's good practice for your projects. You'll want to pin your shapes to your background fabrics. There are applique specific pins but they aren't necessary if you don't mind snagging a thread every once in a while as you work. I normally use piecing pins on large shapes (see pink cupcake melon below). 

Next, gather your needles and thread. For this level of sewing, using whatever you have on hand will work perfectly. Should you purchase nice fabrics for later, you may want to consider matching thread to your focus fabric (though I have also matched background fabrics before). If you're an advanced hand sewist, you may want to consider using a silk thread eventually. I use YLI for good projects and I match to the background fabric in those cases to avoid having to purchase several spools in lots of different colors.

Those of you accustomed to using beeswax thread for quilting, that thickens the thread and makes it easily viewable. I'll be demonstrating with some just so you can follow along but I do not recommend using bees wax for any applique. I'll be using considerably darker or lighter thread on pieces so each step is viewable. Most people cannot see my applique stitches if the thread matches either the focus or background fabrics. I naturally sew tiny itty bitty stitches. I'll work on making larger stitches to help make viewing a bit better. Please let me know if you're having difficulties seeing anything at any point.

As far as needles are concerned, I tend to use a 10 or 11 sharp or between. They're small needles with tiny eyes. I do not have a preferred brand yet but will be trying a new (to me) product soon and will let you know what I think. If you're using a different standard needle for these practice sessions, please know you'll definitely be able to see those stitches but they should appear smaller when you switch over to applique specific needles. Your stitches will also most likely be farther apart until they're replaced.

Additional applique tutorials are available on the tab just below the teal header.

Happy Applique!

Heather

COMING SOON: stitching your applique melons, curves and pointy points

Making Templates & Freezer Paper Melons

Some supplies you'll need for this segment of the project:

freezer paper

sharp scissors

template with seam allowance

template plastic or heavy card stock

sharp pencils

Light box (optional)

When you gather your supplies, make sure you have access to good lighting to complete these tasks or a light box. If you do not have a light box, you can use a clear craft box or plastic bin turned upside down, placing your phone flash light or other light source underneath.

You'll want to make a template the actual size of the melons first.

To do this, use template plastic or thin cardboard/heavy cardstock. If you are using clear template plastic or the cloudy type, you can lay the plastic over the yellow-green template to trace the shape with a sharp pencil. Your light box will make this process a little easier. If you're opting not to use template plastic, use some freezer paper to trace it (on the paper side, not the plastic side) and iron the freezer paper to the cardboard (recycled cereal box cardboard is perfect). Either way, carefully cut around your melon shape with sharp craft scissors (not fabric scissors). You may want to make several actual size templates at this point in case they are bent, accidentally cut, or you lose them.

If you use sharpie and want to remove the
remaining lines, use rubbing alcohol on
gauze for the best results.

Once your actual size templates are complete, trace the melons on your freezer paper (paper side, not plastic side), nesting them if at all possible. I cut inside the line for the best results using craft scissors. If your actual size template is a little off, that's ok. As long as it's consistent, even an eye for straight will usually look past it. It doesn't have to be perfect, basic applique provides a lot of leeway.

When your freezer paper (actual size) templates are complete, iron the plastic side down to the BACK of your fabric on the bias by placing the shape corner to corner on the 5" charm. Check the first couple with the original template to be sure you have plenty of seam allowance room. Cut on the seam allowance line around each melon.

I tend to cut scant seams without checking the template. For beginners, please be sure to cut the full seam allowance on the original template. You can always trim a bit more later but you can't add any if you need to. :)

COMING SOON: 
Ironing your seams for freezer paper method. If you have a clover type craft iron, plan to use it. I'll show you how to work with that and the regular iron to complete the melon shaped prep.

Preparing to Applique: the Basics

A combination block: applique and piecing
from the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along

                                            

There are MANY ways to applique. If someone tells you there is only one that should be a HUGE red flag that they don't know what they're talking about, don't want to share what they do know, and/or they're purists---which can be just an excuse to be judgemental, negative and sometimes cruel party poopers in my book. There's room for everyone here and we'll lift one another up in this project.

So you are aware, I could ask 50 different people who hand applique alone and get 50 different versions of just a couple techniques. I think knowing this will help you embrace what works best for YOU.

The beautiful French word applique simply means that a fabric is applied to another. How that is done is your call. Depending on the design, there may be several fabrics applied to one piece. Hand applique is generally considered "needle turn", which literally means you'll use your needle to turn under the fabric seam allowance. That's not always necessary, depending on the shapes and techniques used. For those of you with garment sewing experience (not you? That's OK, me neither!), we'll be working with considerably smaller seams than you are accustomed to. Quilters among us, if you've never used a scant quarter inch, you will in this process and it will be alright, I promise. If all of this is new to you, welcome and please don't worry. There's something new for everyone.

We're starting with melons. They're common, manageable, and require several key elements that will make other shapes easier to learn when the time comes. Those of you planning to sew along using the template called small orange peel will want to order now if you haven't yet. Of course, you could always learn at your own pace or draft a template to work with. If you are creating your own template, I suggest doing an image search to find one close to the 5" x 5" (12.7 cm) unless you're interested in considerably smaller/larger sizes.

To begin, please find some fabrics that are not of great importance to you. The earliest attempts will seem less appealing moving forward. I'll be working with some thin white cotton background fabric and some bright prints and/or solid Kona cotton for early demonstrations. I have a stack precuts from an I Spy swap a long time ago but eventually, I'll switch to a beige/gray solid background with different prints for the melons to save for a project. Those backgrounds will be Kona cotton most likely because that fabric is a little thicker than I like to use for appliqueing the shapes but it holds up nicely as a background, is inexpensive, and can be ordered at different times but still match for the most part. I also ♡ the newer Essex Linens but they are popular and may be more difficult to reorder when the time comes. The easiest way to get around that issue is to buy plenty up front. :)

If you'd also like to make something with your orange peels at some point, please wait until you are satisfied with your level of work before breaking out your adorable fabrics.

Some terminology that you'll want to look up if you're unfamiliar or it's been a while:

bias (linked in previous post) video here that includes selvage, straight of grain & cross grain
precuts: charm packs*, jelly roll, layer cake, fat eighth, fat quarter
quarter inch and scant seam allowances
quilter's cotton
selvage: do not use the selvage for needle turn applique since there is no give whatsoever in this strip of printed company information label or the plain opposite side selvage. There are people who collect the label sides, though so please don't throw it out. There's a selvage squares tutorial on one one of the blog tabs if you'd like to see how they can be used.

*Charms come in several sizes when swapping or purchasing from other quilters. Companies tend to use the standard 5" size. Be sure to carefully read the product descriptions. There's a new "mini" version of several common precuts including 2.5" charms, half jelly rolls, and half width jelly rolls. 

NEXT APPLIQUE POST: Making your templates actual size and tracing your freezer paper.

Please note that there is a page dedicated to applique beneath the teal header. 

The Sewing Room Redo is Shaping Up

Thanks to some online shopping and Mr. Fabulous, the sewing room is shaping up quickly. He installed a couple surge protector extension cords with USB ports and purchased a new ironing board cover (with fancy velcro holders underneath---no more loose string to tighten!!) and another new iron. He and the kids have been most patient with this little project of mine, collecting numerous packages from the mail carrier without complaint. 

I used to have to climb a step ladder and still stand on my tippy toes to reach the dryer plug to warm my lovely new Rowenta so my oldest has been helping me sans step ladder, of course---oh to be tall---but now I can reach the plug easily. The little things in life truly make all the difference.

I've enjoyed folding my fabrics for the cube storage and feel like they're really starting to come together. The Heather Ross 20th anniversary fabrics are just starting to arrive. I'm anxiously awaiting the big box and can hardly contain my excitement.

Happy Sewing,

Heather