Appliqué: Step-By-Step

Appliqué work - the process of applying one fabric to another - is a staple of the athletic and children's markets in the form of bold team names and pink, fuzzy bunnies, or other novelty designs. However, appliqué can - and should - be used for every market served by embroiders. Think about corporations, restaurants, high schools, colleges, uniforms, resorts, events, promotions, associations, wearable art, and even family reunions. It's not as difficult as you might think. Just follow these steps for crisp, clean, and attractive appliqué work every time.

Creating Appliqué Using Precut Pieces

This method can be used for orders from one piece into the thousands. You can precut your pieces by hand or have them cut by a commercial cutting service. (See " Sources").

1. Prepare your garment as you would for traditional embroidery, choosing the appropriate backing for that particular garment. (As a general rule, use tearaway backing for sturdy, woven materials, such as denim, poplin, Supplex, and wool, and cutaway backing for stretchy materials like fleece and T-Shirts.) Be sure to hoop the backing with the garment. The backing not only stabilizes the fabrics, it adds extra body to hold the appliqué and prevent the garment from dropping around the appliqué edges.

2. Mark and hoop your garment as if for traditional embroidery.

3. Place the hooped garment in the machine. Download the appliqué design into the machine. Double-check the orientation of the garment and the appliqué design. If you've turned the garment upside down or sideways for easier sewing, you need to re-orient your design.

4. Program the machine to automatically stop sewing after the outline stitch to allow for placement of your precut appliqué piece, or tell your digitizer to include this pause in the design file. On some embroidery machine models, the pantograph can be preprogrammed to move out from under the sewing head for easier appliqué placement. Start the machine. The machine will sew an outline stitch in the exact shape of your first layer of appliqué pieces. Tip: Sew this portion in a thread color similar to, but not exactly matching, the garment color to minimize show through. Do not remove the hoped garments from the machine!

5. Position the precut appliqué piece (s) in the stitched outline - it should be an exact match - and secure using spray adhesive or a tacking or appliqué iron to activate the double-sided backing on the appliqué fabric. (See following information in "Fabric") Secure the pieces before restarting the machine to prevent movement as the machine vibrates.

6. Restart your embroidery machine. Depending on the finishing stitch you choose (zigzag, satin, or E-stitch), the machine will change colors and proceed to the next step.

7. If your design has multiple appliqué layers or colors, the program will repeat this process. If not, your design is finished. Remove the garment from the hoop.

8. An important finishing step is to press the entire design with a home iron or a heat press machine. This again activates the adhesive on the appliqué fabric and creates a permanent bond between the garment and the appliqué, minimizing the risk of the appliqué " bubbling " or shrinking after the garment has been washed. Tip: Turn the garment inside out and press on the wrong side when using napped (imitation suede, corduroy, act.) appliqué fabric to minimize flattening nap.

Digitizing For Appliqué

Note: Follow these instructions for digitizing your own appliqué patterns. If you obtain your designs from an outside source, let them know you will be using a design for appliqué, so the file you receive has the features you need.

First, create a running stitch outline as a placement guide in the exact shape of the cut piece. Add a trim and a " frame out " or stop at the end of this outline guide. If appropriate, add a color change here as well.

If you have chosen to finish with a zigzag stitch or stiehl stitch add it at this time. If the finishing stitch is a satin stitch, or if the appliqué edges will be covered by additional stitching in the completed design, tack the edges of the appliqué with a low density (eight 10 stitches per inch) zigzag stitch that is approximately 80% narrower then the finishing satin stitch. Tip: Whenever possible, insert the appliqué pieces first in a design the encompasses appliqué and traditional embroidery.

Preparing The Garment

Prepare your garment for appliqué the same way you would for direct embroidery. Just because you are putting a layer of fabric on the front of the fabric, doesn't mean you don't need backing. Use the same type of backing as if you were using direct embroidery. A medium to light cutaway works well with stretchy fabrics such as sweatshirts or T- Shirts. A crisp, light tearaway is good for woven fabrics such as denim shirts or jackets, tote bags, and computer cases.

Choosing The Design

Choosing the right design is key to successful appliqué. A well-chosen design will be more attractive and easier to produce. Adding appliqué to your design not only saves on stitch count but also provided the opportunity to add color, pattern, or texture. Although appliqué work is traditionally seen on athletic, sporty, or casual clothing, don't discount its use for corporate logos. When evaluating designs for appliqué suitability, consider these factors:

1. Clean edges

2. Large design areas

3. Simple shapes

4. Connecting letters or design elements that keep piece counts to a minimum

5. For maximum efficiency, keep number of layers to four to fewer

6. Appliqué is most cost effective when replacing stitched areas equivalent to 4,000 stitches (approximately 2" x 2 ") or larger. Smaller appliqué pieces can be cut and sewn, but it's not the best use of the appliqué technique.

7. Appliqué works best when design elements are at least one inch tall and a minimum of 1/8 inch wide (¼ inch is better).

8. Avoid tiny lines, fine details and " brushstroke " or erratic edges.

Fabric

Commercial lettering / appliqué suppliers offer a wide variety of fabric in solids and prints. Some offer cutting and laminating (applying backing on fabric you provide) services as well. When using printed fabrics, small patterns work best. Keep in mind the actual size of the lettering or appliqué design when selecting a pattern. Big prints and plaids may look wonderful at the fabric store, but may lose some of their appeal once cut into small shapes.

Check out your local fabric stores for more ideas and don't be afraid to look for interesting textures or patterns such as metallic, brocades, tapestries, terrycloth, suede, corduroy, velvet, wool, fake fur, and felt. Look at the backside of fabrics as well. The backside of fleece has an interesting texture and the reverse of many prints offer softer, more muted colors and patterns than the front side.

Test the sample of your fabric before committing to your project. (See " Preparing The Fabric " below.) Some thin or brittle fabrics can be cut or damaged by the needed during sewing. Don't forget to buy enough fabric for your entire project - including possible reorders. Many fabrics found in the fabric store cannot be reordered.

Preparing The Fabric

Appliqué fabric needs to be treated to minimize shrinkage and fraying. Fabric purchased from a commercial supplier is already treated and ready for cutting: no additional preparation is necessary.

However, fabric purchased from a fabric store needs some additional preparation before it's ready for cutting. First, if the fabric is washable and contains more than 30 % cotton, wash and dry the fabric to preshrink it and remove any excess dyes or stiffeners. (If in doubt about the fabric's content, be on the safe side and wash it.)

Fabrics containing high percentages of man-made fibers such as polyester, nylon, or acrylic usually don't shrink, so prewashing is not necessary. Dry cleanable fabrics such as silk, wool, or leather are perfectly suitable for appliqué but do not need to be preshrunk. However, realize that when you use these fabrics, the garments they're applied to must thereafter be dry cleaned as well.

After preshrinking, apply a double sided, heat sensitive backing to the wrong (back) side of the fabric. The adhesive in the backing fuses the fibers together, which prevents fraying (important when using a zigzag stitch finish) and stabilizes the fabric, making it easier to cut. The adhesive backing also makes it possible for you to permanently fuse the appliqué to the garment for completion. This keeps the appliqué looking new, and prevents shrinking or bubbling after the garment has been washed.

Use a product such as Winder - Under or Heat -n - Bond Late, available from craft or fabric stores. Be sure to use the lite version, not the vinyl or craft weight. Similar products, referred to as appliqué backing, are also available from embroidery supply or lettering companies. (See Sources.) Pressure Sensitive or self stick backings have been used with limited success. In many cases, the pressure sensitive adhesive gums up the machine needles.

The double sided backing can be applied with either a home iron or a heat press, although the process is easier and faster with the press. (Heat presses are available from companies that supply heat transfers and commercial lettering or appliqué. (See Sources.) Follow the specific directions given with the product, but, basically, lay the fabric right side down on the press or an ironing board. Cut your backing the same size as your fabric and lay it paper side facing you; then press with your heat press or iron for about 15 to 30 seconds.

With the paper backing still intact, trace your appliqué pattern directly onto the paper backing and cut your appliqué pieces either by hand or send your fabric to a commercial cutter. (See " Sources ".) Then peel off the paper backing to reveal the thin, plastic like coating of heat sensitive adhesive firmly adhered to the backside of your appliqué fabric. Now you're ready for stitching. Fabrics purchased from a commercial lettering or appliqué supplier will already have this special backing applied, thus saving you a step.

Making A Pattern

The easiest way to create a pattern for your appliqué is to send it to a digitizer specializing in appliqué or a commercial appliqué or lettering supplier. However, this method is impractical for very small orders (fewer than five pieces) or sales samples.

File Folder Pattern - Hoop a piece of tearaway backing and adhere a piece of file folder to the backing using spray adhesive. Remove the thread from you needle, turn off your thread break sensors, and stitch the outline only on the file folder. You'll have a line of needle holes or perforations in the shape of your intended appliqué. (Note: Replace the needle you use for this task. After stitching through the folder, the needle is dull and could damage any garment you stitch with it. ) Take the hoop out of the machine and remove the backing and file folder. Cut the file folder along the perforated outline for your pattern. Trace your pattern on to your prepared fabric. Mark the right or topside of your pattern and make sure to flip the pattern over if you're tracing on the wrong side of the fabric.

You can substitute a sturdy cutaway for the tearaway and file folder. Leave the thread in your needle and sew a running stitch outline, then cut along the stitching to create a pattern. The resulting pattern on cutaway is not as sturdy as file folder pattern, however.

This is a good pattern-making method for small quantities, and it allows you to create more complicated shapes than the " all in one method however, it's time consuming. Hand tracing of a pattern and hand cutting could lead to inconsistencies in shape of appliqué pieces, which will result in off registration during final stitching.

Direct Fabric Pattern

This method is similar to the technique used with file folders or heavy cutaway, except you use prepared fabric. Hoop the fabric and load it into the machine. Stitch an outline shape for the number of pieces in your order. For example, if your appliquéing six garments, you need to stitch six outline shapes. Cut out the shapes along the running stitch outline.

This process saves a step and reduces any chance of error when transferring or tracing a pattern, but it is still time consuming and limiting regarding complexity of shapes. Also, you may still have inconsistencies from hand cutting.

Computer Generated Pattern

Isolate the outline stitch on your computer and print the shape on your printer. Cut it out of the paper or trace it onto a sturdier material such as a file folder or quitter's pattern plastic (available at fabric stores). Trace the pattern onto prepared fabric. This method is more accurate and faster than any of the methods already described, but hand-cutting pieces still results in inconsistencies.

All of the above methods work well for very small orders (fewer than six pieces). For larger quantities, we recommend working with a commercial appliqué cutting factory.

Cutting Appliqué

Cutting appliqué pieces is the most crucial step in creating quality appliqués. Most of the problems associated with appliqués are related to the inconsistent shape of the appliqué pieces. Remember, the machine will always stitch the appliqué outline exactly the same every time you stitch. Proper cutting of the appliqué piece determines if the piece fits the outline exactly. The most common methods for cutting appliqué pieces are hand cutting, die cutting, laser cutting, water jet cutting, and knife cutting.

Hand Cutting

This method is good for very small quantities (fewer than five) and, because it's always available to you, it's the perfect solution for creating quick turnaround sales samples. However, it's time consuming, tiring, and the results are inconsistent. Hand cutting also severely limits the complexity of shapes you can create. Intricate details, tight corners, and interior cuts (inside the letters "A","B","D,"O" and "", for example) are difficult to cut accurately and consistently. For more accuracy, cut the fabric while it lays on a table (not in the air or in your lap) whenever possible. Finally, us a very sharp pencil or fine tip pen to trace your patterns. Thick pattern lines create the dilemma of which side of the mark you cut on. Cutting on the wrong side of that 1/8-inch pattern line could mean the difference between your appliqué edges fraying or being securely covered by your stitching.

Stitching

Satin stitching and zigzag stitching are two of the most popular finishes used in appliqué work. Both have advantages and disadvantages, in addition to their unique technical requirements.

Zig Zag Stitching

Most commonly associated with athletic apparel and sports uniforms (sometimes referred to as tackle twill), this stitch type are beginning to show up more on corporate, resort, and fashion apparel! The low stitch count (as much as 75% lower than satin stitching) makes for fast sewing and allows you to appliqué small or detailed shapes.

Manual stitchers increase the durability of this stitch by using sewing thread instead of rayon embroidery thread, especially when stitching on active athletic uniforms. In Addition, all the corners are double stitched for durability.

Use this finish for small design details less than ½ inch wide and for the letter or graphic shapes less than 3 inches tall. The lighter density of this finishing stitch makes the stitches seem to disappear so smaller design elements are not overwhelmed. To avoid a "saw tooth" look on your garment, digitize your zigzag stitches so 90% of the stitch width falls on the appliqué piece and only 10% falls on the garment. Recommended width is 3 to 4 millimeters (1/8-1/4 inch) and density should be between 12 to 18 stitches per inch. With any less than that, you compromise the holding power. Any more that that, you start to cross the line into satin stitch and the stitching begins to look unattractive.

Satin Stitching

This stitch type is an excellent way to add another color to your appliqué design. You can even substitute this extra thread color for an additional layer of appliqué fabric. Keep your columns narrow (5 to 6 millimeters or 3/16 to ½ inch: see chart). Wider columns are easily snagged, tend to sag after repeated wearing, and may overpower your design. Narrower columns are also possible, but leave absolutely no room for error in cutting or placing the appliqué piece. When digitizing, place 75% of the stitch on the appliqué piece and 25% on the garment. Use a density of 50 to 65 stitches per inch.

E-Stitch or Blanket Stitch

This method is best used on fabrics that don't ravel (such as felt, suede, or leather) because this stitch type leaves a majority of the raw edge not covered. Less popular than the zing sag or satin stitch, the E-Stitch nevertheless lends an authentic look to felt letters when stitched in a matching thread color. Experiment with different threads such as a heavier 30 weights or fuzzy acrylic to lend a more casual look to your work. Tip: secure appliqué pieced with at least zigzag stitch before proceeding with E-Stitch or additional embroidered elements.

Finishing

After removing the finished appliquéd garment from the hoop, press the design area with either a home iron or a heat transfer press. This activates the heat sensitive adhesive that permanently fuses the appliqué to the garment. This also prevents any bubbling, puckering, fraying, and shrinking that may occur after laundering. For best results, turn the garment inside out and press the appliqué from the backside.

When delivering the appliquéd garment to your client, include care instructions. Refer to either the appliquéd fabric or the base garment; whichever needs the most delicate care. For example, an otherwise washable sweatshirt should be dry cleaned if it is appliquéd with leather. And a washable twill appliqué on a wool/leather jacket also needs to be dry-cleaned.

Pricing

As a general rule, appliqué commands a higher price in the marketplace than traditional embroidery. In many instances, using appliqué will save you thousands of stitches (and typically sewing time) so your profit margins are higher. Although the machine is stopped for placing the appliqué pieces, that down time is more than compensated for in the total stitch savings and higher perceived value of he finished garment.