The next time you’re making something – a quilt, a stuffed animal, a dress – and you’re stressing out about a place where your seams don’t line up, or a little pucker in the sewing, or eyes that aren’t exactly level, stop.
No one else will ever look at your work as critically as you do.
Not only will your best friend not care that that seam intersection is off by 1/8″ – she won’t even notice. She’ll be touched that you put so much time and love into something made especially for her. Look! You used all of her favorite colors! Even orange, and she knows you hate orange.
Your granddaughter will not notice that there’s a little pucker where you attached the sleeve to the dress for her doll. It’s under the doll’s arm, for Pete’s sake! And she’s too busy putting the dress on and taking it off for the hundredth time.
Your son will not notice that the eyes on his new teddy bear are a little crooked. He’ll be too busy hugging it close.
So really think about all the “mistakes” you see.
Will it interfere with all the love the recipient wants to give it?
If you wobbled and have a spot where there’s practically no seam allowance on your quilt and you’re worried the seam will pop the first time it’s washed – fix it. If you used the wrong seam allowance sewing the doll dress and now the sleeves won’t fit over the hands – fix it. If an eyeball is loose on the teddy bear and in danger of popping off and inspiring nightmares – fix it.
If it’s anything else – all those little things only you will notice – then let it go.
Which would you rather receive? A gift made with love? Or a gift made with stress, swearing and sweat?
In that video I mentioned (repeatedly) that fusible adhesive can feel stiff.
I also talked about how the satin stitching that’s usually recommended around the raw edges often looks kind of clunky and heavy to me.
But then did a test of some new fusible adhesives I found – a test where I really liked the results! You can read that here.
Those results led me to give fusible adhesive another try in a real quilt – and I spent some time refining my technique (and the way I design my patterns) to suit these awesome new products.
So here are some much more detailed instructions showing how I applique with fusible adhesive. I’m so in love with this technique – especially when combined with Quilt As You Go – that I use it now for all my quilts.
In 2020 I changed the way I design my templates, to make my patterns easier to use for people with electric cutting machines. That means a little change in how I do things.
I’m in the process of updating all my patterns to the new method, but right now there’s a mix.
If your pattern does NOT include an SVG file for use with cutting machines, use the method below. You can tell at a glance by looking at your reversed and exploded template pieces. If any of the exterior lines are dotted lines, that’s an older pattern. Use the method below.
If your pattern includes an SVG file, and all the pattern templates are bounded by solid lines, with dotted lines only inside a solid boundary – that’s a newer pattern format. Use the instructions here.
So here’s how to do it – in all the detail.
Step 1 – Trace (or Print)
Trace the pattern onto the paper side of the fusible adhesive. I use Heat & Bond Lite printable fusible adhesive so I just print out the page. Easy peasy.
Let me just pause here for a second and tell you how much this one thing – printable fusible adhesive – has changed the way I feel about my quilting. I despise tracing (I believe I’ve mentioned that here before – ahem) so being able to simply print out the page with all the pieces on it (and labelled, too!) is an absolute joy. I know the printable sheets are expensive and I just don’t care. I’ll never go back.
Make sure you’re tracing the mirror image of the pattern. It should be clearly stated on the pattern. If it hasn’t been reversed for you, you’ll need to put it face down in a window and trace off the back side so you get a mirror image.
All of my patterns are already reversed for fusible applique – and each page says that.
If you’re tracing, be sure to trace the face too. You’ll need that there for Step 5.
Step 2 – Rough Cut
Rough cut around each shape. Leave a little bit extra all the way around – with a little extra extra (at least 1/4 inch) where there’s a dotted line.
On my patterns I use a dotted line to show you where a piece tucks behind another piece (like the ears tucking behind the head on this cat). That’s why you leave a little extra there.
Step 3 – Fuse to Fabric
Fuse each pattern piece to the wrong side of the fabric. Follow the instructions on whatever brand adhesive you’re using – they all vary in temperature used, with or without steam, and how long it should take
Step 4 – Cut
Cut around each piece. Cut directly on the solid lines.
Leave a little seam allowance past the dotted lines – remember – those bits will tuck under another piece.
Here’s a close up of the cut ears so you can see better. The bit below the dotted line is the bit that will tuck behind the head.
Step 5 – Trace Details
Remember when I told you to make sure you traced the face in Step 1? Now you’re going to use that. Hold the face up to a window so the light shines through it. You’ll be able to see the facial features through all but the darkest fabrics, and the adhesive and backing will stabilize the fabric so you can trace on it without it crinkling up.
I trace just inside the eyes and nose, right on the lines for the mouth and whiskers.
If I were going to embroider the eyes and nose I’d trace right on those lines too.
Of course – you can trace the whole face in a good quality fabric marker and be done with it. It’s durable and easy and the quilt police will not come and arrest you if you “cheat” and draw on your quilt.
Step 6 – Quilt Block (optional)
If you’re doing Quilt As You Go (I did) then you can quilt your block before adding the applique. So easy!
You can also find color-coordinated fabric squares with the quilting lines printed right on the fabric here.
If you’d rather do the quilting later, simply skip this step.
Step 7 – Fuse to Block
Peel off the paper backing and arrange the pieces on your background block. Tuck the ears behind the head. (Remember – all the dotted lines indicate where pieces tuck behind other pieces.)
Fuse the pieces in place, following the instructions on whatever brand of fusible adhesive you’re using.
This is why they call it fusible applique. So easy!
Step 8 – Stitch
Stitch around all the pieces. Satin stitch is pretty common – and that’s what I demonstrated in this video. But I think it’s often too heavy and looks clunky. I much prefer the simple straight stitch I did here – nothing fancy.
I get a LOT of questions about how durable the simple straight stitch is. So many that I wrote a whole blog post about it, complete with photos of a quilt after it had been in constant use for over a year! You can read that here.
I especially like it in black thread. I love the cartoony effect. 🙂 I stitched around the eyes and nose too. I tried to edit the photo so you could see that black on black stitching more clearly – but you might need to click on the photo to see it bigger.
Done! Now just make a bunch of them and you have a quilt. 🙂
Easy and playful and fun! That’s my kind of quilting! Fusible applique makes all the difference!
Here are links to all the posts showing how to applique with fusible adhesive – my favorite method. It’s fast and easy and (with the right materials) it holds up beautifully to rough use and repeated washing.
I HAD to use the post-washing version of this quilt for the video image. Look at all the crinkle! I would never have done quilting that dense without using the Quilt As You Go method. There would have been too much swearing and back pain. 😛
But with Quilt As You Go, look what I was able to do! The machine quilting on the final version of this quilt – the part where I was quilting the whole quilt, not individual blocks – took exactly 30 minutes. I can do anything for 30 minutes! And quilting the individual blocks was so much fun!
Enough gushing about the general technique. Here’s the video showing how to attach the backing to your quilt. It’s pretty much exactly like layering and basting a regular quilt, only you don’t have to worry about the batting. I tried to answer in this video a lot of questions people had after watching the first QAYG video. Really – it is so, SO easy and fun!
2. The cuddle fleece I used on the back is exactly what I carry in my shop. It’s no longer available, but there’s info here about a good substitute I found. I include yardage info for different sizes in the pattern, and also in this post about choosing fabric for the quilt. You could use other soft and cuddly fabrics too – but I know for sure that this wears really well. I wouldn’t use polar fleece. Even the no-pill stuff will pill eventually and you don’t want the back of a quilt you worked so hard on (and that is sure to be well-loved) to look yucky in a few months or even a year.
Quilt As You Go (QAYG) is a technique that’s been around for a long time – but I’ve never tried it until now. There are a few different techniques floating around the internet – including a really common one that uses bias tape and is VERY fussy and irritating, in my opinion. I’ve been playing around with the method for a couple of months now and this is the way I like to do it. 🙂
The video has more detail, but here it is in a nutshell. . .
The hardest part of machine quilting is any time you change direction. That’s pretty limiting. There are plenty of times when a grid or a series of parallel lines is just perfect for a quilt I’m making, but sometimes I want the background quilting to be a little more fun. This is especially the case with my applique quilts, where what I really want to do is quilt around each face and then do something fun to add texture to the background.
That’s when QAYG is perfect.
You layer a piece of batting with each block and then quilt just that block in the machine. It’s small and easy to spin around in all kinds of fun patterns. Whee!
You join all the blocks together after they’re quilted, and then just do some easy grid quilting in the final big quilt.
So here’s the first video in the series. . .
See how easy that is? There’s still some machine quilting, but it’s the easiest kind. And the rest of it opens up a whole new world of easy peasy zigzags and triangles and wobbly waves.
I know some of you already do all that stuff with free-motion quilting. I tried that once and it was a disaster. I’ll try it again someday when I have the magical Bernina Stitch Regulator – I’ve tried that at a show and it does make it super easy. But in the meantime – this is the method I use.
So think of my QAYG method as giving you the look of free-motion quilting without having to learn that tricky technique.
Happy quilting!
If you want to learn more about how I do Quilt As You Go, there’s a much longer post with WAY more detail and lots of links to additional info and tutorials.
Well, usually when you applique, you sew the fabric bits in place around all the edges.
But sometimes it’s fun to make them flappy. 🙂 It’s a way to add a playful element to your applique!
If you look closely at the spikes on that monster above, you’ll see that they’re only attached at the base. That gives them some fun dimension – and makes them fun to play with.
I did the same thing with the teeth on this monster.
Today I’m going to give you some general instructions you can use with any applique pattern.
I’ve been working on refreshing the Peekaboo Bear quilt pattern and decided I needed to take new step-by-step photos. I didn’t want to make a whole new quilt, but Jo asked for a new pillow and that was just right.
I decided to make the ears flappy – with satin linings on the front. Oooh! Satin! Fancy! This would be especially fun to do on a baby quilt where that satin can be a soothing sleepytime thing. 🙂
Here’s what you do. . .
Cut out the freezer paper pattern as usual.
Fuse it to the back of a piece of fabric, as usual. But don’t cut the pieces out!
Instead, layer that piece of fabric with another one, right sides together. Sew around the freezer paper piece, leaving unsewn where it will tuck under another applique piece. In this case, I sewed around the tops of the ears and left the base unsewn. I removed the second freezer paper ear so you could see the stitching more clearly.
Now cut out the ears, leaving a little less than 1/4 inch seam allowance all around the shape.
Turn the ear right side out and press it flat.
Voila! You have a finished shape, ready for applique!
Tuck the shape in place and stitch it down. You’ll sew the larger piece (in this case the head) in place, right over the base of the ear. Since the rest of the ear edges are all finished, they don’t need to be stitched down.
You have a flappy cute ear!
I use this 3D applique technique most often on ears, hair and teeth, but it’s great for any little flappy bit. How about a lolling tongue on a puppy dog? Or a collar on a shirt? Or the wing of a bird? Or flower petals?
If you want to make a larger piece that’s flappy, but not floppy, you can use some soft foam inside. I give instructions for that here.
Have fun with it!
Here are links to all the posts showing how to applique with fusible adhesive – my favorite method. It’s fast and easy and (with the right materials) it holds up beautifully to rough use and repeated washing.
I’ve been working on some cat applique blocks for a kitty quilt that matches these puppies. I’ve been posting some of the blocks as I finish them – and I’ve been getting some questions about them.
All of the blocks so far use fusible adhesive. It’s so quick and easy and I LOVE using the printable sheets. They’re worth every penny (in my tracing-hating opinion). I use Heat & Bond Lite weight for all my quilts.
All of the stitching is done by machine. Every bit of it. The eyes and nose are appliqued on and stitched in black thread – just a simple straight stitch. I stitched around the edges in a simple straight stitch too – in black thread for a loose, cartoony effect. I love it!
And then there’s the big question from the folks who are clearly zooming in on the image for a closer look.
How are you getting a thicker line on the face and whiskers?
Very observant, my friends!
I’ve been doing some experimenting and I’m getting the thicker line in two ways. Sometimes I stitch over the same line three times. And sometimes I use thicker thread. I’m demonstrating both with these Oscar blocks.
In the brown cat I used thicker black 12 weight thread for all the stitching. In the orange cat I used regular all-purpose thread once around the body, then three times for the whiskers and mouth.
You can’t just change the thread weight all willy-nilly. In my very first sewing project I used some really thick stuff called buttonhole twist and had all kinds of problems with it. I had just grabbed it because it was a small spool and I liked the color. I didn’t know there were different kinds of threads!
Now I know – and I did some deliberate experimentation with some spools in different thread weights I brought back from Quilt Market. Here are the results. . .
This is a really big photo I loaded up, so you can click on it to zoom in super close.
Just like needles, thread sizes get smaller as the numbers get bigger.
50 wt
This is crazy fine thread – noticeably thinner than the basic all-purpose stuff you can get at any of the big box stores. Use a thinner needle with it (I used a Microtex/Sharp size 80/12). You’ll get a nice, subtle thin line of stitching. This would be great with thinner fabrics or subtle quilting – like stitch in the ditch where the thread won’t be so much in the spotlight.
40 wt
A little bit heavier than the 50 wt, this feels like the most “normal” thread in the bunch. I used the same needle as the 50 wt.
28 wt
This one was noticeably thicker than the others – and is where I started having trouble with a couple of skipped stitches. It turns out I just needed to sew a little slower which, frankly, I’d be doing anyway if I was stitching around an applique shape instead of just zipping down a quick row of straight stitches to see what it looked like. I did an extra couple of rows of stitching here to get the hang of it and you can see the results – no more skipping.
For the 28 wt I used 50 wt in the bobbin and a new needle – a topstitch size 90/14. I like it. But I love the next one.
12 wt
This is the equivalent in thickness of two strands of embroidery floss. If I were hand-embroidering these faces it’s what I’d use – but I didn’t know you could use such thick thread in the machine. What a revelation!
Just like the 28 wt – use lighter weight thread in the bobbin and a topstitch needle size 90/14. You’ll probably need to play with the tension just a tiny bit since the top and bobbin threads are so different. Stitch up a quick sample using the same weight batting you’ll be using and different color threads in the top and the bobbin. Adjust the tension as needed until the bobbin thread doesn’t show on the top and the top thread doesn’t show on the bottom. In this sample you can see the tiny green specks of bobbin thread showing on the top. It’s easy to fix. Make a note of the new tension and use that every time you’re topstitching with your heavy threads and you won’t need to test it again.
So which one is better – thicker thread or more passes?
I think this is totally a matter of preference. Scroll back up to the two cats side by side. Click on the image to see it bigger and zoom in. Which do you like better?
For me it will probably vary from project to project. The heavier thread weight is certainly faster – you’re only sewing everything once. But I also really like the slightly sketchy look of sewing the same lines more than once. It’s impossible to get them perfectly lined up all the time, so the final result really looks a lot like my sketchbook. There’s a post here with more information about how to deliberately get that sketchy line.
I think they’re both going to have a place in my bag of tools. And now they’re in yours, too!
Here are links to all my posts about outline stitching.
I used to be a quilter – with a capital Q. I entered my quilts into shows and sold them in galleries. I liked making the quilts, but I hated everything else about the process. I hated writing Very Serious Artist Statements. I hated entering quilt shows. I hated worrying about how much time I was spending on a quilt, knowing that that was pushing up the price. I didn’t like thinking about my designs in that way.
So I stopped. And I started Shiny Happy World and I didn’t make a single quilt for a few years.
I started making cute toys instead of expensive quilts. And then I started designing patterns for those cute toys so other people could make them too. And that was awesome!
But then I made a quilt. I made the Buttonholes quilt and it was really fun to design a quilt pattern especially for beginners – with no places where the seams needed to match up and no stress whatsoever.
And then I made the Scary Squares quilt and had the Most Fun Ever. And then there were a few more quilts – including the Puppies quilt which I love, love love.
And all of a sudden I realize I have my quilting mojo back. And you know why? Because I’m making quilts that I LOVE. These quilts will never appear in any gallery. They’ll never win a prize in a show. But they make people smile and they keep people warm and they’re really fun to make. I’m not stressing about points or matching seams – I’m playing with color and shape and cuddly monsters and cute puppies. And I love it!
Why did this come as a revelation?
I reviewed Quilting Happinesshere, and in responding to some people’s comments about the book and the review, it really made me think about my own quilting journey. I feel like I fell into this trap of always pushing my skills – always making more and more complicated quilts – until I didn’t enjoy what I was doing. I was designing for the galleries and the judges and my own weird internal measuring stick.
It’s like I had to give myself permission to make quilts that were “below” my skill level. Where does that come from? I have the technical skills to make a mariner’s compass quilt. Or a Baltimore Album quilt. That doesn’t mean I HAVE to make one! Making one (for me) will be stressful and sweaty and I’ll probably say a lot of bad words. I can do it – but it won’t be fun. And I want my quilting to be fun, dang it!
I’m writing this because I know a lot of you have struggled with the same thing. I read it in a lot of private emails after I posted my Quilting Happiness review. You don’t need my permission – but I’m giving it here just in case hearing it from another source helps.
You do not need to challenge yourself with every project you make. If you want to learn a new skill – awesome! But don’t feel like you have to. It’s ok to just make things for the joy of it. You can make beautiful, stunning, gorgeous quilts for the rest of your life without ever worrying about chopping off points or matching seams.
There. I’m off my soapbox now. 🙂
And now that I have my mojo back, I’m planning a LOT of new quilt patterns for next year. Most of them will be of the easy peasy Buttonholes variety – with no fussy points and no seams to match. A few of them will be skill stretchers, like the Starry Night quilt. (Update – I’ve pulled the Starry Night pattern temporarily while I reformat it to be released as a regular pattern. Sign up for the newsletter to make sure you know when it’s in the shop.) I hope all of them will be fun – and that all of you will make things you love, whether those things are simple rag dolls or complicated quilts. Think about what makes you happy when you sew and follow that path!
Have a wonderful day!
Happy sewing! Or quilting! or stitching! Or whatever you love to do!
The first triangle blocks I taught you were half square triangles. Those are my favorites and you can make quilts for the rest of your life and never move beyond that. Seriously. They’re that versatile.
But quarter square triangles are also a great skill to have. They’re not much harder, and they allow you to make a whole bunch of additional star blocks.
If you don’t already know half square triangles, go get that lesson here. Quarter square triangles start with half square triangles so you need to know them first.
When I read a book to review it, I read it with a notepad next to me so I can capture my thoughts as I go along. My notes for Quilting Happiness – a terrific new book by Diane Gilleland and Christina Lane ended up being a long list of things I loved.
So let me tell you what I love about Quilting Happiness. . .
I love the title. My business is called Shiny Happy World. How can I not immediately pick up a book called Quilting Happiness?
I love the quote mentioned in the dedication. “You’ll never notice it on a galloping horse.” That – in a nutshell – sums up my quilting spirit. It’s something I often tell my students when they fixate on a tiny “mistake” in a big, beautiful quilt.
I love the list 5 Things About Quilting That Makes Us Happy.
I really connected immediately with both authors of the book – but especially with Diane’s last point. “Give me some hand quilting to do, a cup of coffee, and a Doctor Who marathon, and I’m one happy woman.” That’s exactly how I feel about all hand work – quilting, embroidery, finish work, etc. Although I’d also add in Sherlock, Downton Abbey, the Phryne Fisher Mysteries and lots of other favorite TV shows. 🙂
I love the many quizzes sprinkled throughout the book. They can help you articulate what kind of quilter you are – something I sometimes find difficult to do. And I love how the results of the quizzes point you to specific quilts in the book. It’s a fun “Choose Your Own Adventure” way to work your way through the projects.
I love that every single project has very specific suggestions for quilting each quilt.
So many books just say “quilt as desired.” That’s not helpful at all! And not only does the book have specific suggestions – it has multiple suggestions for every project! And they range from simple line stitching to more complicated free motion stitching and even some hand quilting and tying suggestions. That is fantastic – and very unusual!
I love that the instructions for each quilt are super clear – with excellent diagrams.
I love that there are detailed instructions for cutting the fabric. A lot of books will tell how many of each shape and size to cut, but leave it up to you to figure out the most efficient way to do that. This book breaks it down step by step. It tells you how many strips to cut of each size, then exactly what pieces to cut from those strips. Very nice!
I love this Crazy Strips quilt. I think it’s my favorite in the whole book. It’s pieced improvisationally, but within a structure. That helps keep things balanced and can be less overwhelming to someone just getting started with that kind of loose approach.
I love the range and variety of projects. There are bold, dramatic, modern quilts. There are traditional quilts made with vintage-style fabrics. There are quilts for beginners and quilts for more advanced stitchers. There are small projects like pillows and tote bags, and there are large bed quilts. This is an especially great book for beginners who know they want to try quilting, but maybe aren’t sure what kind of quilts they want to make. They can take some of the quizzes to get pointed in one direction, then stretch their skills as they learn.
I love the “Happiness Practice” exercise about Finding Inspiration Guides. It’s a great guide to studying a quilter you admire – breaking down just what it is about their quilts that really works for you so you can apply that to your own work without copying them directly. What a terrific exercise!
I love the general instructions at the end of the book. They’re very clear and cover all the basics – how (and why) to square up your fabric, piecing curves, basting and binding your quilt and more. It’s a great reference.
I love this Haphazard Chevron Pillow. It’s similar in many ways to the Crazy Strips quilt I mentioned above – in that it’s irregular piecing within a structure. But it’s a smaller project and one I could realistically tackle right now. So I decided to make one for myself!
I strayed a bit from the instructions (of course) – not because they were unclear – they’re terrific! But I have overflowing scrap bins, I knew my daughter would really like a rainbow pillow, and I wanted to try a quilt-as-you-go technique I’ve been toying with. So here’s my Scrappy Rainbow Chevron Pillow. 🙂
My pillow form was a bit larger than the one in the book, but I used the same suggested range of widths for the strips I cut so it would have a similar effect.
I love it! Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Are you ready for some Quilting Happiness of your own? Get the book here.
To me, glue is something that holds two things in place while you attach them more securely with something else – like screws or stitches.
I’ve just had too many glue fails in my lifetime. I have a big crate of all different kinds of glues and I really try to make sure I’m using the right glue for the right situation. But still – glue fails.
That’s one reason I’ve always been pretty hesitant about using fusible adhesive. Sure – it’s fast and easy and I’m happy to use it on something that doesn’t need to be held together forever. It’s great for Halloween costumes. It’s fabulous for banners and wall hangings. But I’ve never used it on a clothing or a bed quilt.
Besides the fail factor – there’s the stiffness. I don’t like it.
And the stitching that you usually add around the edge to secure it can look awfully clunky.
Plus – I hate tracing. (I know. I know. I’m a broken record on this. But I really hate tracing.)
When I went to Spring Quilt Market one of the things I was looking for was a fusible adhesive I could fall in love with.
I would love to be able to share a product with you that would allow you to make quilts like this. . .
. . . super fast and with no burned fingers.
I tested two weights of Heat & Bond fusible adhesive.
Heat & Bond Featherlite is very, very soft. It doesn’t have any of that fusible adhesive stiffness.
Heat & Bond Lite is a little bit heavier – but still very soft.
I set up two identical applique blocks, following the instructions on the packaging exactly. I never use fabric softener or dryer sheets on fabric I’m going to sew with because it can interfere with any adhesives I might use. I used exactly the same fabric in the two blocks.
This is before any washing (except for pre-washing the fabrics).
I sewed around the head with a basic straight stitch. I sewed both sides of the neck with a fairly open zigzag stitch. I didn’t do any extra stitching on the ears, the eye spot, the eyes, or the nose.
Then I threw them in the wash with a load of laundry, and ran them through the dryer too.
After one trip through the washer and dryer.
Featherlite is the one on the left. Everything not sewn on fell off – but that was to be expected. The instructions DID say to sew it after fusing so it was kind of an unfair test. I just wanted to see what would happen. 🙂
So you do have to sew this stuff in addition to fusing. On the plus side – it was so soft that you could easily hand stitch through it – and there was no gumming of the hand or machine needle. And after one washing the applique was crazy soft. So soft that I never would have guessed there was adhesive in there.
The Heat & Bond Lite is the one on the right. It’s also supposed to be sewn on, but it didn’t lose as many unsewn pieces. One eyeball came off, the eye spot came loose, and the top ear came loose. (Again – not a fair test because the package DOES say to sew it.) With this product too, there was no gumming of the needle when I did sew it. You can feel a little stiffness from the adhesive, but it’s not bad at all.
So I found out that both products needed stitching on top of the glue (as I suspected all along and as the package said). Now I wanted to find out how things held up after repeated washing and drying. This time we’ll look closer at the edges of the sewn applique pieces.
After two trips through the washer and dryer.
The Featherlite (on the left) is showing a little fraying on the edges – but I kind of like that so I don’t consider it a problem – just something worth noting because I know some people don’t like it. There’s more fraying on the head piece with the straight stitching than on the neck with the zigzag – even though it’s a pretty open zigzag.
The Heat & Bond Lite had no fraying at all.
I had more laundry, so. . .
After 3 trips through the washer and dryer.
No noticeable change. Looking good!
I had one more load of laundry. Towels. Towels are rough so this would really put those edges to the test.
After four trips through the washer and dryer – including in a big load of towels.
Hmmmm. . . maybe a tiny bit more fraying on the Featherlite? Maybe? All in all I was really impressed with how they held up.
Update – I’ve used the Featherlite on some other projects since then and it DOES continue to fray over time. The Heat & Bond Lite really doesn’t. What you see after a few washes is pretty much what you’re going to get.
The final verdict. . .
They both win!
No. It’s not a cop out. I’d just use them for different purposes!
If I were adding applique to clothing that would only be worn a few times I would use the Featherlite.
It’s super soft, making it especially awesome forthings like baby onesies where it will only fit for a short period of time and so the number of trips through the wash is limited.
For toddler T-shirts I’d use the Lite weight for better durability – and it’s still awfully soft after that first washing.
For just about anything else I use the Heat & Bond Lite.
It held up really well in the wash – far better than I anticipated. I cannot believe that tiny eyeball hung on through that final load of towels – with no stitching! And there was almost NO fraying on the sewn pieces – even when sewn with a straight stitch (which I prefer over the zigzag).
It’s also pretty dang soft. Not as soft as the Featherlite, but not bad at all. In fact – I don’t think it’s really even noticeable in a finished quilt. When layered and quilted it’s really hard to tell that there’s any extra stiffness under the applique.
So there you have it! I can recommend both of these fusible adhesives, but the Lite weight is the one I use in all my quilts. I LOVE the printable sheets so I don’t have to trace my pattern pieces. Shop for Heat & Bond Lite printable sheets here.
One more thing – a lot of people ask how this holds up over a long period of time with just the straight stitching. I’ve got a post here that shows one of my daughter’s quilts after almost two years. You can see the results in this post.
What about Ultrahold?
Yes – there’s another fusible adhesive weight available. It’s called Ultrahold and it’s the strongest adhesive that heat & Bond makes.
You’re not supposed to stitch through it. I tried it and it gummed up my needle like crazy. I do not recommend trying it yourself. 🙁
It’s very stiff, so I only recommend it for small pieces like eyes and noses – pieces that are annoying to stitch around and small enough where you’ll never notice that extra stiffness.
This weight does hold very well – BUT ONLY IF YOU DRY IT AT LOW TEMPERATURES. The adhesive melts at high temperatures, right? That’s what gets it to stick. That’s also what gets it to unstick. If your dryer gets as hot as an iron on medium heat, no steam (mine does) that is hot enough to loosen the adhesive. So wash and dry on cold or cool!
All of my patterns are optimized for use with printable products. What does that mean? Each applique block in the pattern is formatted “reversed and exploded” with extra space between the pieces for use with printable fusible adhesive or this freezer paper method.
Yes! I found a fusible adhesive that I’m excited to use! Not just excited – giddy! I was awake most of the night thinking about my next project. 🙂
These links go to all my posts about quilt supplies.
The next time you’re making something – a quilt, a stuffed animal, a dress – and you’re stressing out about a place where your seams don’t line up, or a little pucker in the sewing, or eyes that aren’t exactly level, stop.
