Applique the Linda Cantrell Way….

I so enjoyed the Linda Cantrell lecture and was really excited about attending her workshop the next day.   The workshop was called “Self Portrait Quilts” and I wasn’t all that excited about it, thinking that it was going to involve a lot of drawing.  However, she provided patterns for our applique and the workshop was really about various applique techniques.

She talked about fusing quilts and told us that she is currently trying a new technique to stop the fraying.   She is using June Taylor’s “Fray Block”, and painting it on with a small paintbrush……

….AFTER she has fused it to the background piece.  

She also suggested using a Size 60 Machine needle which makes tiny holes and helps prevent fraying.

Now, onto her hand applique lessons…..

She first cuts her pattern out of freezer paper, sometimes ironing two pieces together to make a stiffer pattern.  The pattern is not reversed when it is drawn on which makes it much easier to do.

She then puts the freezer paper pattern on the back of the fabric, placing the dull side to the fabric and the shiny side up. 

Next step is to iron the seam allowance onto the shiny side of the freezer paper.  The edges stick beautifully, making for a neat applique piece…..

On the larger pieces, she goes back and cut’s out the center of the pattern so that only the ironed edges remain…..

The final step is to put all of the pieces together using a fine bead of Elmer’s glue……

She had a great suggestion for using the glue.   First, she takes the cap off of a bottle of glue and cuts of the “Eiffel Tower” on the bottle.  She also trims off the top of the orange tip.  She then takes the tip end off of a  mechanical pencil and inserts it into the orange tip.   The smaller opening from the mechanical pencil allows for a VERY fine bead of glue to be spread…….

Linda was AMAZING to watch as she ironed around a 1/4 inch circle…..

We asked how she kept from getting pointy edges along her curves and she said that she only irons the edge of the seam allowance first and then goes back and presses the rest of the seam allowance down after the fact.

It was great fun to learn yet another way to applique!!!!