fabric applique on outfits

[dancingraccoon59]

Hi all,
I was just down at Schemitzun and I noticed a lot of grass dancers has fabric applique work on everything from pants to aprons. I live near Boston, so I don't get a chance to see many great outfits, but I want to do some of this stuff on my next outfit. I'm putting out a call to anyone who can provide some more info on what appears to be mainly satin applique. Do you do it just like ribbonwork, do you sew it down, use glue, can you have it match your beadwork, do you back it on something special? Anything you guys can provide would be a great help

Thanks!

DR

[waleli]

You'll find that a roll of Heat & Bond (get it at Wal-mart in the sewing section) will be something you will use alot when doing fabric applique . Great stuff, I use it all the time !!

[T Dave]

Heat n Bond

Get the heat-n-bond lite. The regular stuff will stick to a sewing machine needle and cause ya problems if you try to sew down what you've ironed on.

Dave

[wyo_rose]

Whoops, I clicked on the Grass Dance section by mistake.

But I gotta say that Wonder Under beats even Heat N Bond Lite hands down. After trying them all, it's the only one for me.

(And if you're not a sewer, you can seal the edges with fabric paint)

[Niijii'sMom]

heat and bond fan

I do a lot of ribbon work for the regaila that i sell, and i can tell you from exspericance that it works the best. I love it, i however only use the lite for sewable projects (and make sure you sew it because it will lift eventually) and the the no sew stuff for non sewing. My sons grass regalia has black turtles with a sparkely material that is not so easy to sew and some sequin sparkly stuff for the middle of the turtles and its REALLY hard to sew through. so i got the no sew and sealed it with red glitter and it looks awsome. but the no sew stuff still needs a sealer or it can lift.

Have fun :)
Kim

[saponi]

Heat n' Bond all the way!! I'm trying to figure out how to add my work to a shirt instead of having a yoke??? Any secrets?

[luvstraightdancrs]

Wonder under and a satin stitch!!!!

[Roobz]

where do you get wonder under? I use heat n bond lite and it's pretty good, tried the heavy duty stuff and sewed on it too....BAD IDEA I think it messed up my mother's new sewing machine and that sucks I hope it's not permanently damaged. The stitches are loose and loopy now I have to take it into the service place. Anyways I recently finished a project with heat n bond lite then used the clear quilter type thread to sew it on and it looks nice.

[waleli]

Hey Niimii, Try changing the needle on your mom's machine, it's the gummy stuff from the heavy Heat & Bond that gets on the needle and messes up the stitches. See if that helps before you take the machine in for service.

[randyinkc]

When I have used Heat n Bond I have always used the heavy duty stuff. I found that if you let the piece fully cool of and firm up, it greatly reduces the wear and tear on your sewing machine. As a rule I let my stuff cool for a day before going back to sew it down. I have a star design on my fancy dance yoke set that is all done with Heat n Bond, but its out of Lame` and I had to use the heavy stuff or there just wasnt enough there to hold it together since Lame is a rather loose weave it kind of oozes through a little too. So sometimes you need to put a scrap piece of fabric over your work to keep from glomming up your iron.

I have two old irons one is for feathers for bustle work and one is for working with Heat n Bond so I dont make my wife mad and mess up the household iron...

[dancingraccoon59]

Thanks for all the great ideas, this is beginning to sound easier than I thought it would be!

If I use something like heat and bond lite or wonder under and I'm planning on sewing it down, should I turn the rough edges under and sew it down, or should I use something like a zigzag stitch so I don't have to turn the rough edges under?

Do I really need to sew it down if I use one of the more heavy duty things?

Also, I'm planning on doing this stuff for my belt, tabs, and harness too, and I'm worried that it might end up looking too much like southern plains ribbonwork. I've seen some really neat strips of applique on shirts, worn like beadwork strips on a warshirt, but I worry if I try to design a pattern it will be too southern.

Thanks everyone
DR

[waleli]

You won't need to turn under raw edges, just zigzag or satin stitch around the edges.

[luvstraightdancrs]

I buy Wonder Under at Wal-Mart. It is usually kept with the interfacing on bolts. Here it runs about $.92 yard. You might want to ask them to roll it instead of folding it. Folds make creases that are hard to get out.

Tried Heat and Bond -- too heavy (even the light weight) and didn't hold up as well. Came undone when the shirt went to the cleaners.

Wonder Under and Wal-Mart -- my two favorite things:D :D :D

[Niijii'sMom]

Quilters Iron

This is just a thought. if you want to make small intricate details in your ribbonwork you might want to consider investing in a quilters iron. sometimes when your putting down the smaller pieces they can move on you with a full sized iron. I picked one up at Joanne Fabrics today for about $26.00 its a good investment when your stuff has to look good up close too. :)

I always use a satin stich to put down my stuff, but i have used the small zig zag on my machine to put down the tiny stuff. the larger satin stich is sometimes too big to carry the look i want.

Good Luck!
Kim

[pateiwah]

quilters iron

I get good results from a travel iron. and a piece of unbleached
muslin works well for a pressing cloth.

a good place to look is goodwill or such, if you want a second iron just make sure the cord and bottom of the iron are in good shape

when I do sleeves on a dress or shirt I turn the edge up and put the ribbon over that, sew once and no under stitch is needed and it looks good if the wind or body movement lifts the edge