As a newcomer to needleturn applique I love seeing how other quilters do it. I approached Miriam from Yellow Roses to be a pattern tester and to show us her applique method. I hope you enjoy Miriam's words and pictures!
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Hi, I am Miriam from Yellow Roses and I would firstly like to thank Sharon for inviting me to be her first guest blogger!
Today I am writing about making Block 10 of the Chester County Criswell Quilt; Rachel Dickey's block.
First of all I laid out some of the blocks I had already made and selected some possible fabrics for the block. I chose the first fabric on the left. It is a patterned ombre fabric from a Windham collection called Baltimore Album by Mary Koval.
The freezer paper is then ironed to the right
side of the fabric and I use a white pencil to trace around the freezer paper
pattern. I cut out the design leaving a generous 1/4 inch seam allowance. I
also leave cutting into intricate areas until I am stitching. This means there
is less chance of fraying too close to a seam.
I then carefully tack the design onto my
background fabric. In order to help with alignment I gently fold the background
fabric vertically and horizontally. The large pins help to hold the design
while I am tacking. If I need extra stability while I am stitching I use small
applique pins.
I always use needleturn applique for my blocks.
As I stitch I trim the seam allowance back to a generous 1/8 inch; even less in
tiny spaces.
A close up of my stitching. I try to come
out in the fold of the fabric. My favourite needle is a size 10 Clover gold eye
applique needle, but I love a very thin needle. For this project I am using a
Superior Bottom Line thread, but I often use YLI silk for my applique.
The finished block.
Thank you very much again Sharon
