Applique is the art of sewing smaller pieces of fabric onto a larger background. In order to embark on your own applique adventures, you will need the following:
1. An iron and ironing board.
2. Assorted fabrics and scraps - don't go for anything too fancy if you're just a beginner, that way you can handle making mistakes at first.
3. Thread and embroidery floss.
4. Scissors, preferably the kind meant for fabric so you can cut smoothly and accurately.
5. Sewing machine.
6. Fusible interfacing.
Get an idea of what you want your appliques to look like, how many pieces they will be made from, and make a sketch or sketches of each piece on pattern paper or scrap paper.
Cut out squares of the fusible interfacing big enough to hold the area of your sketches. To save interfacing, try sketching your applique idea on the smooth side of your sheet and cutting out the square around it.
After you have your squares of interfacing cut out, place them with rough side facing down on top of the designated color fabric that is on your ironing board. The fabric should be right side (the side you want to show) facing down towards the ironing board. Leave some extra fabric so that you don’t turn your iron into a sticky mess!
Now make sure your iron is heated and set to silk setting. Start gently moving the iron over your fabric with the smooth sided interfacing on top. As the paper becomes flattened you can apply more pressure by moving the iron around. This should only take a couple seconds and you will notice the paper sticking to the fabric until they become one piece, bonded together.
Put your iron safely away for a minute, and start cutting out the desired applique shape from the fabric and paper combo. Once you have your shapes cut you can adhere them onto anything you like. A bag, shirt, tote, more fabric, pants, skirt, cardboard, or canvas are all great picks to start with!
In order to attach your applique to the fabric of your choice, lay fabric flat on the ironing board positioned where you want your applique to be displayed. Glide the iron over it a few times to make sure it is smooth and warm. Peel the paper backing away from your applique and you will notice a clear sheen adhesive bonded to the fabric. Place the bonded side down onto the shirt flat.
Keep smoothing with your iron. As the fabric heats up apply more pressure. Check to see if fabric and applique are bonded well; you might have to check a couple times before getting it just right. Once fabric is bonded set down iron and turn off. It is now time to reinforce your bonded applique with sewing. You can hand sew the edges of the applique with either thread or embroidery floss, or you can run it through the sewing machine for a more professional finish.