Oversized applique quilts make a big impact and you don’t need a giant sewing field to get the look. Create one quarter of the block and then duplicate it to fill a large 15″ canvas. Her’s how. In Perfect Embroidery Pro, draw a flower. Here’s a little secret, flowers look more realistic if they’re NOT perfect so don’t sweat drawing like Picasso. Now, draw two leaves joined in the middle. Copy and paste the leaves. Enlarge the copy. Position the leaves under the flower as shown.
At this point, it’s a good idea to see what the flowers will look like in a block setting. Group the elements (select, right click and Group). Rotate the flower 90 degrees to the left. Click on the drop down arrow next to the Circle Template and select the Reflection template. Type 30mm in the Horizontal and Vertical distance fields.
Check the spacing between the flowers, paying close attention to the leaves. I want to leave some room for quilting between the elements. Click Cancel.
Select the flower, right click and select Convert to Applique.
Repeat for the leaves. For the stem, you want a combination of straight stitches and steil. The steil will be visible between the leaves and the runs will be under the leaf appliques. Draw five lines (in a straight path): 1: from the flower to the top of the first leaf; 2: behind the first leaf; 3: from the bottom of the first leaf to the top of the second leaf; 4: behind the second leaf and 5: 1” length from the bottom of the second leaf. Select the run segments that are connecting the elements, right click and select Convert to Steil from the dropdown menu. In the color sequence window, move the stem elements to color 1.
Draw a circle in the flower center and convert it to Applique. Use the Reflection Template again to view the finished block.
Consider what applique fabrics you’ll use. I’m planning on using small, busy prints (polka dots, plaids and geometrics) so I won’t add any stitch details to the flowers or leaves at this time. Of course, I’ll stitch a sample before creating the whole block and I might just my mind. That’s the beauty of Inspirations software you can always change your mind and improve your work!
8 COMMENTS
Linda Mundell
9 years agoI love everything you bring to us.
eileenroche
9 years ago AUTHORThank you Linda!
Bruce
8 years agoWell said, I just love this blog.
Bruce, https://www.printavo.com
Dottie Kirkwood
9 years agoWhat fun to do this idea. Look forward to each email and project. Thank you.
eileenroche
9 years ago AUTHORI’m glad to hear that, Dottie. Thank you.
Karen Poole
9 years agoI love appliqué in quilts and this is such a great idea to use embroidery stitches as opposed to having to manually stitch blanket or satin stitches!
eileenroche
9 years ago AUTHORManually? As in ‘hand’? That’s a four letter word here at Designs! We strive to train our machines to do all manual labor! We’re working on getting them cook dinner next!
Marti Morgan
9 years agoEileen, now that I have finally made the investment into PEP, I am excited to see these instruction tutes. I am determined to master this software and be creative with it! Thanks again.