I had a recent commission I’ve been working on, that contains lots of applique.I thought “what a nice opportunity to follow the progress of making a art quilt and give a bit of a tutorial on raw edge applique in the process”. I’m sure everyone has their own system and tips, here’s a few of my own, learned from trial and error.

Before anything I iron a fusible web called Wonder Under by Pellon,  onto the back of the  fabric. I usually paint my own

on  silk fabric.In any case the web makes it easier to paint on, handle and cut out later.

Then after ironing that on, I paint the silk. Some of it will serve as a back grown., some will be appliqued onto that backdrop. I’ve never had a problem later

with the fusible web sticking. If you’re using commercial fabric , your first step is to  iron the web down.

ironing the Wonder Under to the fabric

You can see how the Wonder Under has adhered to the fabric  Below

The web has stuck on to the back of the fabric

 
I painted and painted and painted sunflower petals. Then when everything has  dried, you can cut out the various parts to be used. I am doing sunflowers with the individual petals to be added to.. Below

When dry cut out the parts to be appliqued

Petals, petals, and more petals.

The centers of the sunflowers, painted and dry..all cut out

A "cheater" sunflower already painted whole

In the next installment I’ll show you the what comes next.