Most embroiderers love appliqué designs. Appliqué can be used when a large embroidery design is needed but using a high stitch count design is not feasible. Appliqué can also be used to tame thick plush fabrics; such as terry cloth, fake fur and plush velour. In my embroidery business I add appliqué frames in combination with beautiful monograms to lounge chair towels, blankets and baby items. Here are some helpful techniques for creating professional looking appliqué when stitching on plush fabrics.
- Pre-wash all appliqué fabric before embroidering.
- Use a fusible light weight interfacing to the wrong side of appliqué fabric.
- Match the satin stitch thread to your background fabric.
- Test the appliqué design on similar fabric before stitching to check the density and quality of design. Adjust design in software if necessary.
- Place the embroidery hoop on a clean flat surface when trimming the excess fabric.
Learn more in my Craftsy class; How to Start a Home Embroidery Business with Marie Zinno.
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7 COMMENTS
Karen Poole
10 years agoI love appliqué embroidery, especially on the larger embroideries. As you said it saves time, sometimes quotes a lot of time, it also saves thread, but I can also personalize it with a really great fabric from my stash or even something I’ve found at a craft show!
beth daniels
10 years agoI have not tried applique but one day I am going to try it.
Sharon R
10 years agoI am also new to applique, I don’t know why I resist it, but in 3 years have never attempted.
Susie Mackenberg
10 years agoI was surprised one of the tips wasn’t to use a layer of thin water soluble stabilizer on top. That is the first thing I grab when thinking of working with “nappy” fabrics so the satin stitches don’t get lost. The stitches on the sample pictures here don’t look lost at all…did you not use wss, or have I been doing an unnecessary step?
Gail Beam
10 years agoI love applique. It is my favorite from of machine embroidery as you can get so many different looks depending on the fabric and thread used.
Saundra Romanus
10 years agoI use a lot of applique especially on knits for my Grandchildren. They are do much fun to do and it is great picking out the fabrics for the applique.
Drew
10 years agoApplique can be tricky sometimes but it looks great and saves a lot of time with your design. Great explanation of how to apply it.