Applique Heart Design Embroidery Project

Creating beautiful appliqué has never been easier!

Appliqué is a very quick yet beautiful embellishment for quilts, sweaters, sweatshirts, T-shirts, bags and more. When combined with machine or hand embroidery, the results can be very rewarding. Below you will find three very easy methods for this traditional technique, including basic satin stitch appliqué and two types of turned edge appliqué.

Tips for Satin Stitch Applique:

Use cotton, rayon or polyester embroidery thread for maximum stitch quality.
Use a Micro-Tex sharp needle to prevent poking large holes or needle sheering in the fabric. (Use a ballpoint if the appliqué is being stitched down to knit)
Lower your tension two notches or numbers below what it normally sets on. This will ensure the threads are wrapping to the back of the fabric and will prevent the bobbin thread from sneaking to the top.
Use a good quality tearaway such as Floriani Heat N Sta® Fusible Tearaway or Stitch N Wash® (also available in fusible) to support the heavy satin stitches in the garment or quilt.
Always test your satin stitch on the actual piece of fabric that your work will be done on and write your settings down for future reference.
Learn to pivot in the correct direction when going around curves, pulling the fabric when going around a curve or circle will “warp” or stretch the appliqué causing waves. Set your machine for the needle down position to keep the needle in the fabric when you stop and pivot. This is when you will really love your knee lift on your machine!
BREATHE !! and for goodness sake, sit up straight! Tilt your machine toward you and this will help with both of these problems!