Helpful Machine Applique and Binding Tips from Patrick Lose

 

I love Patrick Lose! From his impeccable machine appliques to his colorful fabric designs, he is the best. He especially likes to design for special holidays or any cause for celebration.

Imagine my delight when watching Fons and Porter this morning (series 2500) and saw he was the special guest. I'm in awe (and envy!) of his stunningly sharp machine applique skills. Click here to see how he really does it:

http://siterepository.s3.amazonaws.com/00384201111021016324448.pdf


Pay special attention to his stitch widths and lengths.

He also shared a great tip for fusing fabrics for applique--if you happen to get any fusible on your iron, iron onto a fabric softener sheet to remove it.

Speaking of fabric softener, did you know that you never should use fabric softener (liquid or sheets) on fabrics you plan on using fusibles on? Yep, the softeners keep your fabrics from getting a good hold. Probably why Patrick's machine applique is so sharp is using crisp, unwashed fabric.

Patrick also has some great tips on binding. I saw this tip a couple of years ago and have been using it ever since. It's the way to PERFECT corners on your binding (start at photo 11):
 
http://siterepository.s3.amazonaws.com/384/binding_feature.pdf

It's amazing how something this simple makes a world of difference!