Instructions for Curiosity's Painless Applique Method

Instructions for Curiosity's
Painless Applique Method for Quilters

1. Cut a piece of foam core 20" x 20" for the lap board. Cut a piece of acetate 19" x 19".

2. At any copy center, xerox our pattern onto overhead transparencies. Curiosity gives you permission to do this. Tape the transparency to the piece of acetate.

OR... trace the pattern onto the acetate with a permanent pen.

3. Xerox the backside of the overhead transparency onto freezer paper. Cut the freezer paper a little smaller than a plain piece of copier paper. Place the plain piece of paper behind the waxed side of the freezer paper to protect the copy machine. (The machine doesn't even get hot enough to stick the freezer paper to the plain piece of paper.)

OR...turn the acetate pattern right side down on the lap board. Place a piece of freezer paper shiny side down on the pattern. With a pencil, trace the design on the line adding the fabric color and the sequence number to each piece. Don't trace the flower stems or baskets. These are made with bias strips using Curiosity Basket Bars.

4. Cut out the freezer paper pieces on the line and place them into stacks by fabric color.

5. Press the paper pieces shiny side down onto the wrong side of your fabric. Leave enough room between the pieces to cut at least a 3/16" seam allowance all around.

6. Cut out the fabric pieces, adding at least a 3/16" seam allowance as you cut. Stack the pieces in numerical order.

7. Center your acetate pattern right side up on the lap board and tape down the top edge.

8. Fold your background fabric in half, then in quarters. Iron center lines into your background fabric. Run a basting stitch along the ironed lines. Slip the fabric under the acetate pattern and match the center lines.

9. Using the acetate pattern to position each piece, begin with piece #1. You can pin down many pieces before they begin to overlap.

10. Remove the background fabric from the lap board. Needle turn the seam allowance under as you hand applique, using the edge of the freezer paper pattern as a guide.

11. After the piece is appliqued down, pull the freezer paper out with tweezers either from the front or from the back through a slit in the background fabric.

FOR FUSIBLE APPLIQUE: Pin the top edge of your acetate pattern to your ironing board. Prepare your background fabric as explained above and slip the fabric under the acetate pattern. Position the first layer of pieces on your background fabric, flip up the acetate and fuse with a dry, hot iron. Be sure to let your applique block cool before flipping down the acetate to position the next layer of pieces.

For more about Curiosity Basket Bars
Click here for Curiosity's home page for our full line of applique patterns and books
FREE instructions for Weaving Fabric Baskets and Fabric Grapevine Wreaths

©Curiosity, 11220 Black Forest Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80908
Fax: 719-481-4498
www.curiositypatterns.com
e-mail: noreenm@curiositypatterns.com