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Did you know that once you’ve got the basics of appliqué under your belt, you can appliqué anything? Including your child’s awesome drawings?

You can!

This is one of Jo’s drawings.

I never put a date on it, so I don’t know exactly how old she was when she drew it, but it’s in a sketchbook full of lots of similar gems – and a lot of random scribbles. 🙂

I enlarged it just a bit (so it would fit nicely into a standard 8″ x 10″ frame) and then I used all my basic fusible appliqué techniques to make a stitched version. This required no special skills, materials or techniques.

I left a little extra for pieces to tuck under other pieces – just like in my regular appliqué patterns.

I held the picture up to a window to trace all the line work (the words and the princess’s stick body) and then stitched over those lines with my sewing machine – just like I do the faces for my regular appliqué patterns.

If you can make any of my quilts, you can do this!

You could just watch this free video tutorial and jump into it – especially if your child’s drawings are fairly simple shapes.

If you’re a little nervous about that, or if the drawings are more complex, I recommend making one of my quilts or taking my Craftsy class first. That way you’ll have a bit more of a grounding in the techniques. That experience will help you make good design decisions – like what overlaps what, when to use stitching and when to use appliqué.

It’s super fun – and your kids will be thrilled to see what you do with their work!

Appliqué it to a T-shirt or tote bag for school. Make a pillow for Grandma – holidays are coming up soon! Add a drawing to a receiving blanket for a new baby brother or sister. Put a whole bunch of drawings together into a magnificent quilt! The sky’s the limit. 🙂

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi