Hey everybody, it’s Rob from Man Sewing.
And today I’m super jazzed to present a Quilt-in-a-Flash for you.
That’s right, we’re going to learn about reverse applique.
And what you’re looking at right here is my very first attempt.
And it was so fun and easy, I thought, I’ve got to show you how to do this at home, right?
All you’re going to need supplies-wise as far as the fabric is concerned is two pieces.
The black that you see, and then I’ve chosen a batik.
You could of course use a print.
I prefer batiks for this kind of work because batiks have a tighter thread count or a tighter
weave therefore they don’t unravel as much when you’re dealing with a raw edge.
And we are going to have a raw edge in there.
And we’re just going to build this, stack it, and prep it all as a quilt before we start
anything.
So watch this.
Let me slide this just slightly out of our way for a second.
And you’re going to be starting with a background piece of fabric.
And like all quilts, your background fabric is larger than the quilt top.
Now, my quilt top is actually based off of this piece right here.
And this piece is what you saw showing through the reverse applique.
And that is a 27 by 22 inch cut.
So you can see my background is just larger.
And of course you can just make these any size.
That’s why I’m not giving you too much detail.
But before we start, we need to put some batting in there.
And like all good quilts, our batting will also be larger than our quilt top.
As we’re getting started.
So I’m just taking a moment to get some of my ripple and ruffle out of there.
Now comes the background fabric.
Again, remember this is the fabric that shows through as the design.
But it goes down first.
And some batiks are stronger dyed on one side than the other so just make sure you love
the way it looks, ok?
Now from that point on, we’re going to drop down the reverse applique to be.
And when I say the reverse applique to be this is what I mean.
I have already taken a moment and put fusible web, this is the Heat N Bond Featherlight.
I’ve put fusible web on the back of all of this.
I’m not going to iron it until one of the very last steps.
But the fusible, like being a batik, is also there to help it not unravel after we’re
done with our project.
So before we do any of this sandwiching, let me get this paper off.
Ok, and as you can see, I’ve already taken the paper off of this.
And if you have little spots maybe where the glue doesn’t, it kind of comes off on the
paper, it’s no big deal.
This is just our backup plan.
Like I said, I’m not even sure if the other reverse applique artists do this or not.
I am going to center this.
This background fabric, I don’t even know if I told you this or not, it’s two inches
less for me than my motif fabric is going to be.
So if that was 27 by 22, the black is now 25 by 20.
So I am eyeballing a one inch reveal all the way around.
And before I go any further, I am going to now go to the sewing machine and stitch a
quarter inch seam allowance all the way around that.
So let me do that real quick for us.
And that’s just going to be a stay stitch that helps hold it all in place.
I’m going to go all the way around in one motion so I’m not starting on a corner on
purpose.
I’m making sure that all three layers are organized correctly.
And away we go.
Ok, now that we have finished all that stay stitching with that quarter inch around, it
is time for my favorite part and that is the design concept, right?
Now I feel pretty comfortable when I’m drawing just to come through with some very basic
shapes, like these triangles or these swirls.
And we’re going to start kind of in the middle.
Because we’re going to draw a few shapes and then we’re going to sew around them.
And then we’re going to let the design keep growing.
For me, like I said, this is the very first time I’ve tried something like this.
And it was a little difficult for me to see the design coming together because I needed
the positive and negative space of the cutaway.
So let’s just take a few at a time, right?
So let’s start with kind of our swirl and our triangle effect.
And I’m going to have to draw it so it’s easier for me to see.
I’m using a very cool little chalk pencil.
This is a nine millimeter chalk pencil, right?
And so I’m just going to take and make this arc.
And this will become a stitching line.
And if that’s my stitching line, it’s not a single line but it actually needs to
come back around and follow through.
The space in between there, so this space right in here, is the area that is going to
be cut out, right?
So you can also put a few X’s because you’re thinking to yourself, that is going to disappear
and that’s where the cool background fabric is going to pop through.
You’ll notice I brought it into a little arc here because I can then pick up.
All of this chalk is going to wash away when we’re done.
And I either use like a little sponge or little baby wipes are great.
Just make sure they don’t have any bleaches or anything in them like that, right?
So now I’m just kind of creating that arch.
And if I want to do the other end of the arch so I have a place to put my triangles, I’m
going to do it again.
And this time, let’s make it one motion.
You probably notice, I’m actually drawing these a little bit wider than mine finished
and that’s going to help me get my scissors in there.
There’s a few spots I created originally that were just a little tight for my scissors.
I’ll be doing lots more of these, I promise.
I just love this.
Maybe, maybe not showing one every week though.
We’ll make a library, we’ll make a museum of them, you know.
And then the next thing I’m going to start playing with a little bit in here too, are
those triangles.
And the triangle idea came from, I had seen this really terrific flying geese quilt that
was all pieced.
And it was white fabric with red triangles.
So if that’s your quilt, I want to know about it.
Man that is an incredible quilt out there.
I’m drawing these triangles to kind of represent that cool thing about the flying geese that
I like so much.
And I was saying, we’re going to now stitch on just these lines.
I am pretty confident with my free motion work.
So I’m going to free motion these.
But if you’re not confident in your free motion work, you could always just do these
with your standard presser foot.
You’ll just be rotating your quilt more under the needle.
But I do want to show you real quick how you can do it with your standard presser foot
before I switch out those feet.
I’m going to start on one of those middle triangles because I want to respect it like
a quilt.
And if you have your needle down function, this would be a great time to use it because
you’re going to be doing some pivoting.
And I’m going to take it nice and slow.
And remember the stitch lines are just markers for you.
So if you don’t stay right on them, it’s no problem because we are going to erase them
once all the stitching is done.
So we’re just going to slowly pivot, get organized, make sure all the ripples back
out because you notice I did not pin baste this quilt.
I’m actually kind of hoping for a little bit of pucker in and out of the field which
will make the quilting really cool when it’s done, ok?
Yes, I have a wad over here but I don’t have a wad under the needle.
Ok, so that’s how you do it with your standard stitch.
Now I’m going to go ahead and switch over to free motion foot and I’m going to do
the rest real quick here.
I’m all set up for free motion, right?
And I’m going to go ahead, I’ve got needle down position.
I want you to watch this time though.
I’m actually not going to be spinning the quilt as I’m working under the machine.
I’m going to keep it in one motion and I’m going to do my triangle more like that, right?
So free motion, you don’t rotate the quilt once the needle is moving.
And standard stitching, you follow by rotating the quilt.
Here we go.
And again, my chalk lines are simply markers.
So if I were to fall off the line, no big deal.
Put my needle up and because I’ve stitched in, I’m going to trim my threads.
And I’m going to move onto the next and I’ll just go ahead and finish all the sewing
and then I’m going to show you exactly how to cut these.
It’s really cool.
Ok, hey welcome back.
I’ve got all of our free motion or I should just say all of our stitching done because
some of you are doing with your standard stitch.
And as you saw that works just fine.
Quick point, go ahead and take a moment and trim all your threads between each round of
stitching especially off the back.
Because you don’t want those getting caught up on your machine when you’re quilting.
Now this part, you want to be really careful with because I’m going to use my seam ripper.
And I take that seam ripper and I’m going to wiggle it.
And I’m going right in the middle of that big triangle that I’ve already stitched
around.
And I’m going to kind of wiggle it in.
And I’m actually kind of trying to peek down in that hole to see if I see any of the
blue or the background fabric coming up.
Because I don’t want to cut anything other than just the black.
So I get in there and I take a little teeny sliver.
And I will tell you once I accidentally cut into the fabric.
Once I cut out the whole square though, all I did is I went back in with a little dab
of glue and no one will ever be able to tell.
Now I’m going to use kind of these fun little curved scissors and I pull back on the fabric
and I also cut my way right along the edge of that thread line or my stitching line.
And again, you can do this a little bit or you can try to get it all out at once.
But look, there’s that fabric popping through.
Isn’t that cool?
Ok, and I’m going to come around here.
And I’m kind of, like I said, pulling up on the fabric.
Now let’s say you accidentally cut some of your thread, you could always free motion
or standard stitch back around here again.
And this is the other reason why we did not iron yet.
Because if you would have ironed, you wouldn’t be able to pull this up, right?
It would have been fused.
So I’m going to cut every single one of these out by getting that seam ripper in there,
kind of wiggling it.
You could also pinch if you felt like you needed to.
You’ll be able to feel if you’ve got just that single layer.You can slice through, come
back in with those scissors like I said.
Try to make as long of cut as you can.
You don’t want it to look too jagged along the edge.
When you’re up against the stitches, you want to make a nice, smooth cut as possible.
So I’m just going to work on this for a little bit.
Why don’t you all grab me another cup of coffee, right?
And when you come back I’ll have all these pieces cut out and we’ll do second round
of drawing.
I bet that sounds like a good idea right now.
Oh, thank you so much for the coffee.
It’s just the way I like it.
I do really appreciate that.
It’s a little hot for me at the moment.
I’m going to set it aside.
But we’re going to come back to that.
But while we’re waiting for that to cool down, let’s start talking about the next
part of our design, right?
So you can see, I’ve already cut out all of the areas that I’ve already stitched
and drawn.
So we’re just going to start now building, let me pull this up, the other parts.
And again, use basic shapes.
Shapes you’re comfortable with.
And I’m going to set that aside.
And let’s draw another one right here.
Get it all the way you like and then let’s talk about some free motion machine quilting
as the finish.
So let’s bring this back in.
And this is great.
And it is a fantastic place for you to all practice because you cannot see my stitching.
That is right.
I have used black on black to create the loft and the pucker I wanted in the quilt.
But I didn’t want to distract from the reverse applique itself.
So if you’re not “perfect” and I’m certainly not at free motion quilting.
Another great place to practice because you’re not going to be able to see the actual stitches.
So a little black on black to fill in the parts of the quilt that are not the reverse
applique section.
Once that is done, I simply, you know what I’m going to show you a little bit better.
I simply use my two and a half inch wide for my binding.
And then I pressed that so that it’s a one and a quarter.
And I sew it one from the back as I go around.
And then I roll the finished edge to the front.
So what you’re looking at right here is this is the background of the fabric that
the reverse applique shows through.
And the rest of this here is the binding coming around from the back.
So I’m using the same fabric for the reverse applique as I am for the binding so that it
finishes, makes it look wonderful and tidy.
And these, ladies and gentlemen, are so fun and easy to do as I said.
They make a fantastic gift.
And it’s a great place for you just to play.
And the reason why I say that is I love the creative process.
But sometimes when I’m working through a big project, I need something like this to
just kind of free my mind.
So I hope this has been a great tutorial for you.
And I hope it gives you some great tips.
And enjoy your very first reverse applique because I certainly enjoyed mine here at Man
Sewing.