Quilting for Applique Quilts
I think that every quilter is familiar with this experience - the quilt top is finished, but how in the world should I quilt it? Feeling stumped about quilting is especially common when it comes to applique quilts. All that lovely, detailed work! Should you quilt over the applique or around the applique? What will look best? Are your skills up to the challenge?
Sometimes these quilt tops end up lost to the cupboard, which is such a shame. Here are three approaches to quilting applique quilts.
no. 1 Quilt Around the Applique
This seems to be the traditional approach, as well as the one requiring the most time and skill. Quilting around the appliqué via free motion quilting yields lovely results, but it is definitely an advanced skill. If you’re not already a confident free motion quilter, consider hand quilting instead. Yes, it will be a slow process, but you’ll almost certainly be happy with the results!
Some blocks in my Cathedral Windows Penny Sampler were applique blocks, such as the round peach flower here. It is embellished with echo quilting around the applique.
Advantages: Emphasizes the applique, allows the applique to have a puffy, raised appearance.
Considerations: Skill-intensive and/or time-intensive. If hand quilting, watch out that you still provide enough quilting to yield a durable quilt. If you opt for longarm quilting, this is pricey custom work.
no. 2. Quilt Over the Applique
Yep, it’s true - you can also quilt right over the applique! A regular, all-over quilting texture can fade into the background visually, even though it goes over the applique. Not only is this easier to implement on your home machine, it’s also much cheaper than custom quilting if you go with longarm quilting. Plus, your applique is reinforced by the quilting, protecting your hard work.
Recently a customer brought me a rather large quilt top with elegant applique blocks. She prefers unfussy, all-over quilting, so I suggested the Bread Basket pattern.
With its gentle curves and open style, this pattern allows her applique to breath and the quilt to remain soft. The subtle floral pattern suits the applique, without commanding attention.
I used a cream thread for the edge-to-edge quilting. Even up close, it really doesn’t show much over the applique. Jeannette is thrilled with the results!
Advantages: Durable, easier and faster than quilting around the applique, most affordable if using a longarm quilting service.
Considerations: The applique will not have a raised appearance. You must choose a quilting pattern that will not distract from the applique.
No. 3. Quilt Before the Applique
For a large-scale applique work, also consider the option of quilting the background in advance. You can quilt the background fabric as if it were a whole-cloth quilt, with batting and backing fabric as usual. Then, add your hand stitched or machine stitched applique over the top of the already-quilted work. Your applique will definitely stand out!
Allison Richter of Campbell Soup Diary designs beautiful modern applique quilts. Her quilts tend to be large scale with lots of negative space, ripe for quilting. Quilting is not her favorite part, but custom longarm quilting around the finished applique is rather expensive. Recently she sent me the background for her latest Fly High, Dragonfly quilt, so that I could longarm quilt it prior to the main applique.
Here you see the base for her quilt. She had sewn in the patchwork element - the dragonfly tail - which I quilted around. Otherwise the rest of the quilt is edge-to-edge quilting with batting and backing as usual.
Back at her home, Allison appliquéd the prepared elements to the quilted background. These appliqué stitches will be visible on the quilt back, but unlikely to draw much attention given the fun quilting texture.
If you enjoy applique, you may already know Allison, who is known for her starch applique method which has the look of hand applique, even though it’s sewn by machine. If you don’t know her, you’re in for a treat!
I think the finished quilt is perfectly delightful!
Advantages: Emphasizes the applique since the applique floats on top. More affordable if using a longarm quilting service. Requires less skill than quilting around the applique, if quilting by machine at home.
Considerations: With machine applique, the stitches will show on the back. The appliqué stage may be less enjoyable because you are working on a bulkier background.
Interested in a more detailed look at the pros and cons of quilting before applique? Allison has shared a super-informative post today on the topic. She also offers detailed how-to’s for applique after quilting, covering everything from stitch length, type and thread. Check it out!
p.s. The Fly High, Dragonfly quilt pattern is available as a Digital download in Allison’s pattern shop!
Do you have a quilt that needs quilting? If you live in the Europe, I can help you with that.
I provide longarm quilting services by mail to the European Union, the United Kingdom and countries nearby. Email me at Rachel AT Stitched in Color DOT com and share a photo of your quilt top. I’ll be happy to brainstorm ideas with you!
