All about applique

I am a little bit behind on my textile course updates!  (Ooops - sorry!)  Being half term, my class hasn't been on this week but I am looking forward to learning all about trapunto quilting tomorrow night.  So far we have covered rag rugging, applique (the subject of today's post) and embroidery and cross stitch.  I have to say that I am really enjoying the course and have learnt lots of new techniques, met some fabulous people and have been truly inspired.  One aspect of the course that I am finding really useful and fun is keeping my themed sketch book and I will definitley be applying this strategy to my crafting at home.  It is just such a great way to store ideas and inspiration.

So, on to applique!  Applique is the craft of sewing, or attaching, one piece of fabric to another. The word applique comes from the French, appliquer, which means to put on.  It is a technique which is believed to have been around since people could sew and quite possibly began as a way of patching holes up in clothing.  One of the earliest examples found was in Egypt depicting a ceremonial canopy.  Today applique is a very popular technique used to decorate all manner of items by adding shapes and pictures in contrasting fabrics to the base. 

We learnt the quick and easy way to applique using bondaweb and it is just fantastic!  In class I appliqued a very simple tree shape and it worked really well.  I have also made my bellydancer phone cases from felt, appliquing (is this a word?) the bellydancer onto the base cover.  I don't use bondaweb for these as the felt 'sticks' to itself and doesn't move around when sewing. 

My (very simple) applique tree

I really enjoyed applique and am planning on using this technique to make some Christmas cards for friends and family.  If you haven't given it a go, I really suggest you do!