Fussy Cut Applique: Modern Broidery Perse

We' ve been talking about piecing with those great novelty prints. And it's a whole lot of fun.
But there is another way: applique!

Broidery perse one of the earliest American quilt techniques. The very first prints in England and America came from India. They were extraordinarily expensive and frugal quilters used them very sparingly. So they would cut out some of the fabulous flowers and paisleys and applique them onto a white/cream background. Tree of life was one of the most popular patterns. The flowers/foliage on the tree would  be cut and appliqued from the chinz.

P&B Textiles

Of course, everything old is new again. Quilters have rediscovered fussy cutting as a way to applique those amazing english rose prints and more.

Original broidery perse was needle turned, hand stitched and very labor intensive. There are people who still have that skill, but modern fusible webs give us another alternative.

The Crafty Quilter

You can back your applique flowers with fusible, fussy cut them to your delight and apply them with a hot iron. A talented sewing machine with a button hole stitch makes a darling edge. Or an inobtrusive zigzag will work in a pinch.

You can place a fabulous image from your print right where you want it. How cute is that!

Fussy Cutting for Pieced Quilts:

 Fussy cutting for piecing has to always take the seam measurement into account. You want to look at the pieces put together with the seam allowances in the piece but somehow subtracted from your design.



The hexagon  pieces here are  carefully cut with the rose center, and the leaves and petals going around. It isn't exactly how the fabric was printed, but it holds the image of the rose beautifully.

What should your seam allowance be? It can be anything you like as long as you're consistent. Mary Ellen Hopkins called it your Personal Private Measurement. For many of us, our foot width  from the edge is a good choice. 1/4" is standard, but not necessary. What is important is that you know where it is on your ruler, and you stick with it.

The same print can give you many choices for your blocks. It's all in where you place the design elements.

http://suedaleydesigns.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/02/so-what-is-this.html

For more complicated pieced fussy cutting, some people use mirrors to see what their design will actually look like.

Wise choices and a consistent seam allowance let you put your prints right where they shine.

Next time we'll talk about fussy cutting for applique.

  

Novelty Prints: Picking Prints for Fussy Cutting

Fussy cutting is ALL about the fabric.It's picking the exactly right print for a quilt and then picking out exactly the right image in the fabric for the piece. And it's always dramatic.

The simplest fabric for fussy cutting has already been designed for the purpose. There are fabulous panel prints that are just made to cut apart and put in a quilt square. 
Some fabrics require a little more thought.

Love this Dick and Jane panel. But say, it's a bit large. Cropping it is easy. Focus on the part of the print that matters most to you. You'll lose something but it makes the print more important in the quilt.

Fussy cutting for piecing usually involves placing the fabric in a square or rectangle. Your print may or may not be the size square you need. You can use borders to plump it out a bit. If you need it smaller, then cut judiciously. 

 
Sometimes a print will offer you several great choices for a mixture of blocks.

Some prints are more random and you'll need to turn and twist to get the look you want.

Your clear plastic ruler is a real help for this. It allows you to center in on just the part you want and figure your seam allowance. Does it matter if you have extra bits of the print around the edge? Actually, no. Your eye will pretty much ignore the periphery and focus on the center.

You may find a print is too small for your block. Not to worry. Add a border or two and you're good to go.

Take your novelty print over to your cutting board, tart looking at it through your ruler and you'll see it in a totally different way.

Fussy Cut Piecing: The Fabric Makes the Quilt

We've talked a lot about working smart rather than hard. Here's a secret.If you choose amazing fabric, the fabric makes your quilt amazing.Even if the pattern is really simple. The fabric ALWAYS makes the quilt.

A lot of modern piecing construction is about sewing together strips and cutting them into segments. If you need a quilt finished fast, that's a great method. But you never know where the print will land in the block. That takes a little more precision and care but it's in no way hard. You just need to choose fabulous fabric and fussy cut.

Fussy cutting is placing your fabric exactly where you want it in your quilts. It's not hard, although it takes a bit of planning. 

For the next couple of blogs we'll look at fussy cutting techniques and the kinds of fabrics that make it so exciting, personal and fun.

But it always starts with the fabric. Have you seen a print that was perfect for your daughter? Weird and fabulous and something they really love? That is a reason to buy the fabric now. No I'm not kidding. NOW! Fabric comes and goes out of production very quickly and you never know. You may be hunting it years from now.

Those odd, personal fabrics are known as novelty prints. They can be the backbone of amazing quilts. They are so fun. And they make fussy cut quilts awesome.
What makes great novelty fabrics?

• Larger prints 
• Fabrics that are personal for a particular person
• Great colors
• Clean clear printing/design

When you see a novelty print that is perfect for someone you love, make sure to add it to your stash because you'll want it when you're ready. And besides, you need to age your fabric to perfection.