10
tips for invisible machine applique
Elaine Theriault
Buying a new sewing machine is a confusing
task. The first thing I’d do is compile a list of tasks
that I want my sewing machine to perform and
then check out those tasks against the features of
available sewing machines in my price range.
One of the tasks that's pretty close to the top of my
list is the applique capabilities of a sewing machine.
Sample of invisible applique stitched on the Sapphire 930
We’re going to explore the world of an
applique style that I call invisible applique
using the zig zag stitch and in doing so,
discover how the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire
930 passes all the tests with flying colors.
There's nothing that you can't applique with
the Sapphire 930. Let me rephrase that –
there's nothing that you can’t applique with
amazing results with the Sapphire 930.
Let’s have a look and see what you can do.
1 – Choose the appropriate stitch
When one is deciding on the applique method, you
have to think of the desired look of the finished
piece. I choose the invisible applique stitch when
I want the look of hand stitching, but don’t have
the time to do all that stitching by hand. I wouldn’t
do this technique on a project that had a lot of
complex pieces. I like to turn the edges of the
applique shapes under to do the invisible applique
stitch and the more complex the pieces are, I find
that I have better control doing the stitching by
hand. I’m not saying it can’t be done by machine,
because anything is possible – it just requires a tad
more skill.
The underside of the sample of machine invisible applique
Having said that – when I do invisible applique by
sewing machine – I choose to use an elongated zig
zag stitch. I turn the edges of my applique under by
using starch.
If you look really really closely at the picture on
the left, you can see that it’s stitched down and if
you still don’t believe me, below is a picture of the
underside where you can really see the stitching.
If you’re not familiar with the starch method
of turning the edges under, here’s a link to my
tutorial on prepping applique pieces using the
starch method.
44
QUILTsocial
.com
| issue 5