Celebrate with a Stitch. Mandy Shaw

This product has the ability to stick your appliqué in place temporarily until you are ready to iron it, so no pieces of appliqué will come flying off on your journey to the iron.

       Tips for Hand appliqué

      • Use sharp fine scissors to cut out your appliqué shapes to give you a clean cut edge to sew over.

      • Always use an appropriate needle for your thread – my personal favourite is John James embroidery size 7– and adapt the size of your stitch to the scale of the appliqué motif.

      • If you prefer needle turned appliqué, add a 6mm (¹⁄₄in) seam allowance to the pieces, and use a fine matching thread and needle.

      Before ironing the appliqué design in place, lay out the individual pieces to help you to establish the fusing order. For example, in the case of the birthday party table setting (Seven More Sleeps) the tablecloth is laid down first, then the cake is laid on top, and the braid for the cake band is added last.

       Tips for machine appliqué

      • Use a new needle: for best results use a sharp denim variety size 90/14 or 80/12, although for fine appliqué use a finer 70/10.

      • Reduce your top tension a little – no bobbin thread should show on the top. Practise on identical fabric and layers first.

      • Use bobbin fill or cotton thread in the bobbin; if there is a hole in the bobbin case arm, thread your cotton through it to improve tension.

      • Use the machine’s needle-down facility to prevent stitches slipping.

      • Use an open-toed embroidery/appliqué presser foot that has a cut-away on the underside to accommodate the raised appliqué.

      • To start pull thread up to the top, sew a couple of stitches on top of each other, then cut the thread, to prevent threads tangling beneath.

      • On curves, stop on the outside edge needle down, raise the presser foot and turn the fabric – stop and start as necessary.

      If you overlap adjoining pieces of appliqué you will have only one edge to sew instead of two. For example, on the cupcake (Pennants) the case is tucked beneath the icing, so only the sides and the bottom edge of the cupcake case need to be sewn to secure it in place.

       Tip

      It is not always necessary to stitch a fusible appliqué down, for example if the work is not going to be laundered or if it will not be subject to a lot of wear. A quick make decorative pennant, such as the 21st birthday pennant, does not always require the appliqué to be stitched in place.

       Working the Stitches

      It’s amazing how a little embroidery can lift a design to make it even more interesting. I have included my favourite stitches here, with working instructions for both left- and right-handed sewers. If you are looking to refresh your embroidery skills, the Birthday Party Stitchery uses several of the stitches.

       Transferring the embroidery designs

      When transferring an embroidery design onto a cream background as for the Baby Sampler for example, you should be able to see through the fabric to trace off the design with a fine pencil. Alternatively, use a window as a ‘light box’ – tape the design to the window, tape your fabric on top and trace off using a pencil, fade away pen or other suitable marker.

       Starting and finishing stitching

       Thread your needle – never use more than a short arm’s length of thread at one time as it will be more prone to knotting, and more vulnerable to fraying and splitting.

       Start the embroideries with a small knot on the wrong side of the work. To avoid the knot being seen from the front of the work, do keep it small.

       When rejoining a thread, use your needle to weave the new thread into the previous stitches.

       When you have finished your embroidery, weave the thread into the previous sewn work.

       Do not leave long strands hanging on the back as these may show through on the front.

       It is a matter of personal preference as to whether or not you use an embroidery hoop to keep your fabric taut while stitching. I prefer not to as it gets in my way.

       SATIN STITCH

      A filling stitch used to create a smooth surface decoration.

       Right-handers (black dot indicates start point)

      Work from right to left and take the stitches across from side to side, keeping them even and close; avoid stacking the stitches on top of each other or the effect will be unattractively lumpy. The stitches can be worked in a slanting direction or straight across the design.

       Left-handers (black dot indicates start point)

      Work from left to right and take the stitches across from side to side, keeping them even and close; avoid stacking the stitches on top of each other or the effect will be unattractively lumpy. The stitches can be worked in a slanting direction or straight across the design.

       RUNNING STITCH

      Run the needle in and out of the fabric for a simple but versatile line stitch.

       Right-handers (black dot indicates start point)

      Work from right to left. Bring the needle up through the fabric, make a stitch, and bring the needle down through the fabric again. Repeat, making sure the stitches and the spaces between the stitches are the same size.

       Left-handers (black dot indicates start point)

      Work from left to right. Bring the needle up through the fabric, make a stitch, and bring the needle down through the fabric again. Repeat, making sure the stitches and the spaces between the stitches are the same size.

       Tip

      To work seed stitch sew running