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Sketchy Stitchy Applique

November 11th, 2008 37 Comments

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Little Birds quilt for DQS5.

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Author: Anita Comments: 37 Comments Categories: Quilting

The quilt that inspired this w hole sketchy stitching idea is now long gone from Flickr. I cant even link to it. But it w as sort of a scenic type quilt w ith trees and leaves, a park bench and flying geese blocks as geese flying in the air. The outlining or sketchy stitching w as probably done by hand. If its not already obvious I am not a hand applique, hand embroidery, hand quilting kind of gal. If any of it can be done on a sew ing machine, thats w here Ill be doing it. Enter the sketchy stitching. My first attempt w as on the Little Acorns quilt. The next attempt w as the Coneflower quilt in the Knife Edge Binding tutorial. But I think these Little Birds for the Doll Quilt 5 Swap have been the most fun. Heres basically w hat I do:

Ideas

Sketch out a few ideas of w hat I w ant to applique. In this case some birds and maybe an ow l.

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Transfer shape to fusible web.

Trace the outlined shapes onto Steam-a-Seam or any other brand of fusible w eb.

Iron fusible web to fabric.

Peel off the paper from one side of the fusible w eb and iron it onto the w rong side of a fabric scrap.

Iron fabric to quilt top.

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Cut out the shape from the fabric scrap and peel the paper from the fusible w eb. Iron the shape onto your background fabric. (The background/quilt top must be prepared first) Make a quilt sandw ich w ith the backing, batting, and quilt top.

Use free motion quilting method to stitch around shape.

Set up your sew ing machine w ith the darning, stippling, free motion foot drop the feed dogs and make any other adjustments that your machine may need. My machine also has a place to reduce the pressure on the presser foot. Choose a contrasting thread color to stitch around the shape. I like using a darker brow n. To me, black feels much too stark. Stitch a couple of stitches in one place to secure the thread and then sew around the shape once.

Stitch around shape 3 or 4 times total

Stitch around the shape again at least 2 or 3 more times. I try to w eave back and forth from one side of the first stitching line to the other, sometimes stitching right on the fabric shape and other times stitching off the edge of it.

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Add details

On the third or fourth time around, add the details like the feet, tail feathers and beak.

Use the same thread in the bobbin.

Use the same color of thread in the bobbin as on the top. If the bobbin thread is a different color, you may get little specks of that color coming up through the top of the stitching.

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Finish quilting the background.

Once the sketchy stitching is done, I go back and fill in w ith any other quilting that I may w ant to do. On this Little Birds quilt, I first stitched in the ditch of the pieced strips. Then I did the sketchy stitching around all of the birds. And lastly, I quilted a couple of w avy lines across the bird panels. And as alw ays have fun! Dont w orry about the stitching being perfect. Thats part of the look, I think.

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37 Responses to Sketchy Stitchy Applique

Trisha November 11, 2008 at 8:32 am
Wow ! Aw esome tutorial. I w ill have to give this a try. Your birds are so incredibly adorable! W hat a lucky person that gets your quilt for DQS5. Reply

Jessie November 11, 2008 at 8:44 am

Oh my goodness. These are adorable! Reply

Marianne

November 11, 2008 at 8:52 am

I LOVE IT!!! Great tutorial, too. I alw ays knew I could figure it out, but this w ill save some bumbling around. Reply Thanks!!

Melody November 11, 2008 at 8:52 am

Wow ! You make it look so easyand very, very cute! Reply

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Julie November 11, 2008 at 10:02 am

Love it! Thanks for sharing your technique. Ive been scared to try applique, but I think I could do this type of thing. Reply

Goosie Girl November 11, 2008 at 10:28 am

Very cute! Such a great idea. Good for using scrap or making a favor fabric go far. I love this idea. Reply

rebecca November 11, 2008 at 12:19 pm

its truly delightful. and im sure far exceeds the quilt that inspired it. so lovely. i love the colors and the details, and those appliqued pieces are darling! Reply

Tina November 11, 2008 at 12:23 pm

love this! im definitely trying itright up my alley! Reply

Tamara November 11, 2008 at 3:15 pm

I love thisyour design, colour choice, the quilting.its really amazing and inspiring w ell done! Reply

Amy @ parkcitygirl November 11, 2008 at 3:34 pm

Great idea! your birdies are darling Reply

pratima

November 11, 2008 at 4:43 pm

Anita, your birds are just so sw eet! Love your choice of fabrics. Thanks so much for show ing how to do it. I must give it a try sometime. Reply

Helen November 11, 2008 at 6:39 pm

This is lovely. Draw ing w ith your machine, such a w himsical effect, very nice. Reply

Nanna November 12, 2008 at 2:30 am

I love your birds and thank you so much for your little turtorial. Reply

Diane

November 12, 2008 at 4:52 am

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I love the look I might try it. Love to see w hat you are up to next. Reply

Erin K November 12, 2008 at 5:30 am

That is fantastic! I love the technique and Im so in love w ith applique but afraid of the w ork of it (I dont like handw ork) so this might be for me! Reply Thanks so much.

Rachel

November 12, 2008 at 6:53 pm

Oh, this is VERY cute! I am definitely going to have to try this technique. Thanks so much for sharing it w ith us!!! Reply

iknitipurl

November 13, 2008 at 11:40 am

Thanks for the tutorial, you did a great job. I absolutely love the ow l. Reply

Brenda November 14, 2008 at 12:52 am

Thanks for adding Twelve by Twelve: A Collaborative Art Quilt Project to your blog roll. Be sure to look out for our mathematics-themed quilts that are due to be revealed on 1 December US time! Reply

Jenni November 15, 2008 at 9:14 am

I love your stitching and your birds. I attempted the same type of thing on a birdcage and heart seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerquilts/3002401147/in/set72157608707075335/ Reply

Michelle November 16, 2008 at 8:22 pm

Those birdie are so adorable! I love the cheerful fabric, too. Gonna have to try this technique w hen I figure out w hat project to use it on Reply

Lynne November 19, 2008 at 3:03 pm

That is so neat, Anita! Thank you for the tutorial. I havent done any machine quilting w hat is that little clear plastic disc? Reply

Lily Boot November 20, 2008 at 3:34 am

I LOVE it! The fabric is beautiful that 1974 polka dot is one of my favourite pieces of fabric at the moment. Im w ith you on the applique your lovely tutorial looks just my style. And the free motion quilting is gorgeous!

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Reply

ayumills January 21, 2009 at 9:32 pm

Thanks so much for this fabulous tutorial! Absolutely amazing. I must try! Reply

Nani February 9, 2009 at 2:30 pm

SUPER cute & it actually looks do-able! Thanks for a great tutorial! Reply

Deb

February 12, 2009 at 5:58 pm

How adorable!! I love your birds and especially your ow lie. I cant w ait to try this myself. Reply

Kathleen

March 27, 2009 at 5:30 pm

oh the preshy birdies! Im going right now to stitch up a few . My university daughter is coo coo about birds now there w ill be a little tw eet treat for her on Monday. Thank you for the perfect tutorial. Reply

tinasquirrel April 28, 2009 at 6:58 am

I just love this sketchy stitching technique. (And love your birds and ow ls.) I cant w ait to try it out. But, I need to finish the other quilt Im w orking on first! Its almost done and just needs binding, and then I can start on this project!! I cant w ait. Reply

Kris May 19, 2009 at 7:04 am

Thanks for this great tutorial. I tried it out myself to make some quails. If you w ant to check it out, heres the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/kskovy/3528859518/ Reply

More tote bags! Squirrel Acorns August 17, 2009 at 12:19 pm

[...] on the same tutorial from Skip to my Lou, I also made a similar tote w ith some linen, applique and sketchy stitching as part of a contribution to the handmade craft sw ap at Alew ives Fabric last w eek (amazing! super [...] Reply

Alewives Fabric Craft Swap Squirrel Acorns September 15, 2009 at 7:22 am
[...] that I had in my stash, and some purple quilting pieces, also from my stash. Then, I used the Sketchy Stitchy Applique tutorial from Bloomin Workshop to make these little birds. I love the little birds! I used Heat [...] Reply

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Christmas Gifts Fabric Baskets Squirrel Acorns January 12, 2010 at 8:55 pm
[...] I cut out chickens from the bottom fabric, attached them w ith Heat and Bond Lite, and then did some sketchy stitching around the chickens (using some stabilizer underneath). I loved how it turned out! I w anted to [...] Reply

Mandy F

April 30, 2010 at 5:18 pm

How cute, great w ork!! Reply

Barbie May 11, 2010 at 8:23 pm

Great tutorial.. thanks for sharing x Reply

Larissa

June 29, 2010 at 8:54 pm

Here is the link to the original inspiration picture on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mellicious/1896943794/ Very cute w ith the birds. Reply

Erin October 16, 2010 at 6:54 pm

Just w anted to let you know that I just tried this technique! I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for the inspiration. I linked to this tutorial on my blog. Hope that is okay! Reply

edyB

November 15, 2010 at 1:59 pm

Thank you ~ this is a very helpful tutorial! Reply

heather

May 1, 2011 at 11:31 am

how did you piece the quilt together if you sandw iched each birdie separately? did you have a w hole other piece of fabric on the back or w hat? Reply

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