BBD QAL - Tools I use for applique (Apliquick)

hi i'm olivia b and this video is part of a blackbird designs quilt along series that i'm doing with lori from techstylist who is also posting videos if you'd like to go check those out this video is i'm going to show you the tools that i use to do my applique um i am still on my first applique quilt so i'm nearing the end of the applique part and i've used one method this whole time and that is the applique method applique is a set of tools they come out of spain and they are not cheap they're an investment so i kind of think of it the stitching equivalent would be investing in a nice frame or stand for your stitching it's something that you would use in every project but it is an investment and there are a lot of alternative methods to doing applique that do not require that kind of investment so lori will be showing i believe next up is the freezer paper method she'll be showing you how to do that so that's obviously a lot cheaper and then there's the needle turn applique where you need very very little and anyone can do it so um i think carol from salt box stitcher might be doing a tutorial for lucky um but you know it's i know it's not easy making tutorials i want to put a lot of pressure on her so please know that uh jan paddock who is a famous designer she has a series of videos on how to do needle turn up applique if you want to check those out but keep um keep on look out for the blackbird designs quilt along videos and you'll see other ways to do applique and you will see other tools but this video i'm going to show you how what i use and those are the applique tools and then i'll also show you what i use for sewing the applique pieces on i purchased my applique tools from an etsy shop by the name of kathy mcneil quilts which i'll link below i'm not affiliated with that shop or any of the shops i might link below but i purchased them from her and i had a good experience she also has some videos available on youtube to show you how she uses them i've also noticed that you can find the tools for sale on amazon and i have purchased more of the applique fusible which i'll show you on ebay and i'll link the vendor that i used below as well so let's get into it so when i got my applique tools i realized pretty quickly that i needed something to store them in to keep them together nicely so i decided to make this pouch it was also my first time that i used applique and it was a fun little project learning experience i designed the pouch myself it's nothing fancy but it fits my tools and you can look on pinterest and you can see other things that people have made for their applique tools it's kind of fun to explore so in here um i have all of my tools and this flap right here this is the project i'm working on midnight silhouette my blackbird designs and here's where i keep my tools so i'm going to start in the middle with my applique tools these are the applique rods they kind of look like chopsticks but they have these ends on them you can see there's like a pitchfork and then one is this kind of slanted edge sorry if it's not focusing great these are made from surgical steel so they're very nice and these are kind of the main tools that you use pitchfork holds down the piece and then the slanted edge is what you use to turn the fabric over and smooth it down i also have a couple of pairs of scissors that i use these are also from applique but you don't need these to use the applique method these are ergonomic so you can actually use all of your fingers when you're cutting and they are also made from the surgical steel and there's a very light serration on the scissors and that helps grip the fabric and then these are smaller applique scissors that i use as well and i use the scissors when i am cutting out the paper shapes and then when i'm cutting my fabric one of the key things that you need when you're doing the applique method is the applique fusible paper um the it's kind of uh like thicker thicker than a light interfacing um the the thing with the applique paper is that it's stiff enough to give it um sharp edges when you're using this method but light enough that you can sew through it i will say that if you're doing multiple layers it can get pretty thick so that's something to look out for when you're using a method like needle turn you don't have anything extra in there and that's kind of a pro for that method but this is the applique paper um when i bought my kind of starter kit from kathy mcneil quilts there was applique paper included but i've since bought more i've been purchasing mine from a seller on ebay but i've noticed it's also available on amazon you could try other other kinds as well i've tried a light interfacing instead but that was a bit too light it didn't give me the smooth edge i needed all right i use sometimes use applique sorry applique pins to pin down my pieces um i use the ones i use are from clover and i'll talk more about needles when i show you what i used to sew things down i used to have all of my tools in this pouch but keeping all of the thread in here got a bit bulky so i use my pencil to trace my shapes onto the paper i'm sorry i wanted to show you that one side of the paper is shiny i don't know if you can see that um that's because there's a glue on it if you do have the paper in hand it's very obvious so that's there's a light glue coating on here that adheres to your fabric and so you're able to draw on this shiny side so you don't have to reverse the pieces i use a pencil but you could really use anything sometimes i use a fine point sharpie just be aware that that can bleed through the paper so my if you look at my um my blackboard size pattern you'll see that there's ink markings all over it but i do keep pencil and sharp paint here for that reason and then this is kind of key this is uh the fabric glue i'm using so line you can get the um refills like this here i think they carry them at joann's i believe i bought mine at fat quarter shop so this is what that looks like it's a colored fabric glue made specifically for using for things like this the color helps because it shows you where you've applied the glue already but this is what you'll apply to the edges of the fabric and then you turn them over and smooth them down and they hold in place and then it comes out in the wash and it's not sticky when you're sewing through it which is nice and then i do have some apple click tweezers i think these are more for use when you're working with smaller pieces and then in here i've been keeping my bias tape makers blackbird designs have you used clover bias tape makers and make when you make the stems this is a quarter inch and this is a half inch um i have read other methods for making the bias stems kim deal for example and they mention using bias bars i've recently purchased this set they're from clover i haven't used them yet so i'm interested to see how that goes something else that i like to use when i am preparing my applique pieces is i will use um just a paper pad like this this is a mixed media one just at michael's i didn't buy this for applique i just had this on hand but what i like is when i lay down the fabric the right side down and i'm working on my pieces this kind of surface keeps it from sliding around you can use all kinds of other things you could even use a very light grit sandpaper um but this is what i use and you can see it kind of gets messy i made myself a separate pouch for the tools that i use when i'm sewing on my applique so for a project say i was working on a block i might prep all of my pieces and then i can put all of those tools away and then i just grab this little tool set here for when i'm sewing the pieces on by hand so this is not tied to the app a quick process because we're all going to have to sew the pieces on i made this pouch using a pattern by anila ho daniel called the make and go pouch here's what that is um i had never made something like this before um i i'd never worked with vinyl before so it's a little wonky but it works for me so here is where i keep i keep my needles i use these black gold needles applique sharps number 12 by clover in here i keep my glue i find um glue is very important in the process um here's it version in the packaging i use roxanne um basic glue and this is really helpful to me when i'm basting down my pieces so that they lie flat i'll usually go through and baste a few at a time i don't usually base the entire thing also necessary for me are these little thimble spots they're actually called thimble pads here's the packaging and then i put this on my finger for when i'm pushing the needle through the layers of fabric and paper i also keep some pins in here which i've already shown you those are the clover pins for thread i use aurafil i use an orifil 80 weight that's my preferred thread for the applique pieces i find it just blends in very nicely comes on these wooden spools the thing is when you're when you're sewing on your applique pieces the you should match the thread to the color of the pieces that you're sewing on um because i haven't been appliqueing for a very long time i don't have a huge collection of applique thread or thread to use for applique i should say um so i if i don't have the color i need i will just go into my sewing thread stash and use the 50 weight that i have there this is even polyester um though they'd probably recommend cotton but for me personally it's it's not worth stopping the whole process and going out and trying to buy the right color of 80 weight cotton i'll just use what i have on hand and i think that's fine i will show you what mine looks like a little up close here so here you can see um this piece here this leaf i've sewn that on with a matching 80 weight or a fill thread and i mean i i can't even see the stitches honestly so that's kind of what you're aiming for on this this piece here i've used orwell the orophil 80 weight thread but i didn't have a color that matched very closely i just had a brighter green and you can kind of see the stitches there i'm okay with that that's not a big deal to me let's find an instance of orange so here i have used my 50 weight thread and i don't know if you can see a video i can see the stitches a little more easily but it's the same color and it blends in and i'm okay with that these right here are the threads that i've mainly used um on the the quilt that i'm currently working on these are the colors that i've been using um because i haven't i haven't found a quilt shop or i haven't been to a lot of quilt shops lately because of covid but um i haven't found a place where i can pick these out in person um i've found the best way to [Music] have to find the ones i need is to buy a set i purchased a set of aurofil 80 weight thread from fat quarter shop um these two are what was included they came in a bigger box i just don't have that box anymore um they came with i guess they would be you know an array of colors for the whole rainbow that were the most widely used so these are the ones that i have not broken into yet and then i have since then also purchased a smaller kit this one's called calm but they have little kits like these and i think that might be your best bet if you wanted to try out the 80 weight or you could just buy one spool and see how that works for you but again you don't necessarily need the 80 weight but i do find it's nice to work with all right so those are the tools that i use when i'm doing my applique i know lori will show other tools that you can use in the other methods but that's what i use do you have any tools that you use for applique that you find indispensable or that you would recommend i know i would love to hear about it and i'm sure other people in the comments would love to hear your advice so please let me know and if you have any questions about the tools that i showed you today please ask i will link everything possible in the description box below thanks so much

Channel: Olivia B

Views: 1,988

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: BBDQAL, Quilting, Applique, Apliquick

Id: IPR4k1ZU8oA

Length: 15min 6sec (906 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 02 2021