Hoooo-Ray for Owl Appliqué

So You Think You Can Sew

Week #1:

For the Home

I have been wanting to learn how to appliqué for the longest time and thanks to Ashley from mommybydaycrafterbynight by putting on the

So You Think You Can Sew Contest,

I finally got my chance to share my experience with you.

I am so honored to be part of this competition and I am extremely excited to see what everyone else brings to the table!

Here is what I came up with "For the Home"

and I hope you all have a real “Hoot” with it!

What You Will Need:

Ruler

Paper

Pencil

Black Marker

Scissors

Iron

Needle and Thread

3 Frames 11x14 (Or any other size that best fits your space)

1 Package of Fusible Web (I used Steam-A-Seam 2)

1 Bag of Fabric Scraps (I asked some friends if they had

anything they could donate to the cause)

½ Yard of Muslin (I used this for my background but you could use other

fabric, just make sure you have enough to fit your frames)

4 Medium Black Beads (Or buttons depending on your preference for owl eyes)

Step 1: Find an idea for your appliqué project. My inspiration was owls. Make small sketches of your ideas. Once you have your idea down on paper make it large enough to fit your frames and outline it in black marker.

(I didn't outline mine and it made it a lot harder to see where my lines were)

If you are using a pattern skip to step 3.

Step 2: Tape your design into a well lit window. Place another paper over the top of your design and trace out individual shapes. For example the body will be one shape, the wing will be another shape. Make sure to label all parts clearly including where the top of the object should go. Outline in black marker. I kept my designs separate from each other to help minimize confusion.

Step 3: Flip your design so that it is backward. Tape it to a well lit window. Take out a sheet of your fusible webbing. Tape it on top of your design. Trace on top of your paper liner, check to see which liner removes first by peeling apart at the corner. Trace on the liner that remains attached to the web.

(See how everything is backward now)

Step 4: Cut out basic squares around your newly traced pattern. (I cut them out exactly to the line and then placed them on my fabric... I now know that this might not be the correct way to do appliqué. Although everything turned out fine.)

Also make your branches a little longer than outlined... this will be helpful for later when you are putting them in the frames. You don't want them to be too short!!

Step 5: Pick out your fabrics that match with your traced pieces. Peel off one side of your fusible web. Make sure it's just the paper part and not the webbing itself that you remove.

Place your shape on the "wrong side" of your fabric. Rub softly and then cut your shape out of both your fabric as well as your fusible webbing. (I placed all of my cut pieces back on my original drawing in order to see I had all my pieces in the right place)

Step 6: Take out your muslin and cut it into 3 equal pieces at least 2 inches larger on all sides than your frames. So cut your muslin into 3 pieces at measurements of 15x18. (This will give you room to pull your material tight when you frame them. I cut mine too short and almost had problems with it later.)

Step 7: Take one of your muslin pieces out and set it down on your ironing board. Peel off remaining paper liner of your appliqué pieces. Leave the web on the fabric and stick the appliqué to your muslin. Reposition till it looks like it's in the right place. (I started with my branches so that they were all located in line with each other.)

Step 8: Using your iron, press for 10-15 seconds for cotton fabric. (I placed my bottom layer pieces first...

{Labeled as "A" in the pattern}

The first layer is basically branch and a few leaves on Owl 1)

Step 9: Take your fabric over to your sewing machine and select your favorite stitch. I did a zig-zag stitch on the outside of my bigger pieces, and a running stitch on my leaves and inside pieces. (I had to play around with it a bit before I found what looked the best. Use a scrap piece or two to get the hang of how your machine works with the fusible web.)

Step 10: Once your base pieces are sewn down place your next pieces on top and iron down. Sew down and continue until all your pieces are sewn and looking good!! Continue the process with all three owls.

Step 11: For my owl eyes I wanted to give it a real pop off the page feel. I decided to use black beads to achieve the look. I just hand stitched them down with a needle and some black thread.

When it comes to Owl #3 I did a running stitch to look like eyelashes.

Step 12: Remove the glass and other paper from your frames. Position your muslin so that your branches match up in a line and fit into your frames neatly. Take your glass and carefully place it over the back side of your muslin and secure it into your wooden frame. Next, take your frames' cardboard backing and set it over your glass. Push down one tab on every side of your frame. This will help prevent everything from shifting around too much. Flip your frame over to see your cute little owl. There will be some puckering in your fabric. This can be fixed by pulling on the edges of your muslin so that it is as tight as possible. Once you are happy with the way things look push down the rest of your tabs and tape your extra muslin to the back of the cardboard.

Step 13:Hang in an owl friendly environment in your home. Preferably somewhere that everyone can admire your beautiful work!!

Step 14: Head over to mommybydaycrafterbynight.blogspot.com

and place your vote for your favorite home décor sewing project.

Voting starts Wednesday January 4th at 8:00 am EST and

ends Thursday January 5th at 8:00 pm.

So get on over there and place your votes!!

The bottom 3 contestants get eliminated.

Also good to know: One vote per computer, phone, or ipad.

I know Whooo Owl be voting for!!

Here is the Hooo-Ray Owl Appliqué pattern in PDF form.

This is my first time making a pattern so let me know how it works for you!! Everything should be labeled clearly. Start with the pieces labeled "A" for your first layer of appliqué, sew, and move on to "B" and so on until you are finished sewing all your pieces.

Hooo-Ray Owl Appliqué - Ashley Moore

Thank “Whooo” Very Much For Visiting!!