A quick tutorial--raw edge

  Thank you all for the votes and support.....Remembrance won the in the weekly contest!  So awesome.....

Update:   The mail truck arrived while putting this together.....and she wanted to know what was going on!!  Packages from Mrs. Claus in Kansas, Texas, Utah, and North Carolina arrived today.  Photos and details tomorrow.  Thank you so much.  I am so excited.  Now, to the tutorial.

   Among the emails this week, was a question about raw edge applique .  That sparked me to do a doll quilt--what else?--with this technique.  This hasn't been washed yet, but the edges will fray and fluff up when it is.

    So here is a quick tutorial for this simple technique.

For the background I sewed 4  3-inch strips together to get the width and length I wanted.  If you want to do this in a block to block construction, cut your background block to the desired size.

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Find a pattern of a flower, or draw your own onto freezer paper.  This is a single layer flower with a center and leaves.  The shape is slightly curved, with shallow curves.  You need one flower, one center, and one or two leaves for each applique. 

Cut out the pattern and press it on to the right side of the fabric for the applique.  Cut out the fabric by the pattern.

Decide on placement for the applique.

Remove the freezer paper from the fabric.  To the wrong side of the fabric, dab a little glue in the center of the piece to hold it in place.  I used lapel stick----a little too much here, but I wanted it to show :)

 Then place the pieces onto the background fabric.

Note:  You can just pin the appliques in place, if you prefer.  If you are using multiple layers, then pin and do not use glue. 

Then set your sewing machine to a small stitch, about 20 stitches per inch.  I used  white thread so my stitching would show up.  Normally I would use a matching color.....but once the raw edges fluff, the white will not be noticeable.  Stitch about 1/4" inch from the raw edge all the way around each applique. 

 Note:  If you are using 2 or 3 layers on top of each other for the flower, then cut away the background fabric inside the stitching line before adding the next smaller layer.  Add the next layer, stitch and cut away the underneath fabric each time.  This eliminates the bulk from so many layers of fabric. 

That's it....easy, quick, and so cute.  OK, off to finish up some things.  Happy stitching.