I was asked to post a tutorial on applique with felted wool. I just got a magazine.. Better Homes and Gardens American Patchwork & Quilting Oct. 2008 issue and it had a great project to use as an example. You will need a nice flannel for your background fabric and felted wool for your appliques. You will also need Steam a Seam fusible, and perle cotton or embroidery floss to stitch your shapes.
https://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial011.jpg They give a nice photo of the project layout but not a full size and the pattern pieces are in a pull out section. To make a block I traced the shapes with paper and cut them out so I could use them for figuring out the placement and I could trace around them onto the Steam a Steam fusible
https://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial014.jpgI cut a piece of paper 11" square. The same size as my background fabric will be. I folded the paper in half, then in quarters, then opened it out and folded it from corner to corner to get the diagonal lines to use as registration marks to draw out the full sized block. Note: You can skip drawing the placement out on paper if you wish. Just fold your background fabric in the same way as I described folding the paper give it a light press with your iron and use the folds as registration marks. I folded my shapes in half so I could line up the fold marks and traced around them. I'm a stickler for exactness.
https://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial016.jpghttps://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial016.jpg https://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial020.jpgNext..trace around your shapes onto your Steam a Seam paper. Leave about 1/4" between shapes. Cut your shapes out about 1/8" away from the drawn line. Now you will peel the outer layer of paper off of your shapes. Be careful and make sure you are leaving the glue and just peeling off the paper. Place your pieces onto your wool as close together as you can so there's no waste. Press your Steam a Seam down real well. Give it a good rub with your fingers. Now cut out your pieces ON the drawn line. You are now ready to place your shapes on your background fabric.
https://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial021.jpghttps://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial022.jpghttps://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial023.jpg You are now ready to place your pattern on a light box and place your background fabric over it. Peel the paper off of your pieces, being careful to only get the paper. The glue will be staying on the wool. Lay your pieces in place and once you are happy with the arrangement, take your block to the ironing board and give it a good steam press.
https://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial026.jpg Now you are ready to stitch your pieces down. You can use Perle cotton, embroidery floss to match your pieces, or black embroidery floss. You can do a whip stitch or a blanket stitch...and add a stem stitch for the veins in your leaves. The first photo is how you place your needle to do the whip stitch, followed by the blanket stitch, and them the stem stitch.
https://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial028.jpghttps://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial006.jpghttps://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial009.jpgI thought it would be good to show you what the various stitches/threads look like. AND..the finished block. I chose black floss and a blanket stitch because for this project I liked the looks of it the best. The whip stitch with perle cotton is the fastest and easiest. However, it can be hard to find in a nice color and it is more costly.
https://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial003.jpghttps://s381.photobucket.com/albums/oo255/ann_champion/th_WoolAppliqueTutorial002.jpg If you don't have wool available or just don't want to use it. You can use these same steps to do a project with cottons. BUT I think the blanket stitch always looks best if you are using cotton.
For borders..I usually fold the fabric in half lengthwise and use that crease to help position my pieces. Once I have a border how I want it, I use it with a light box to get the placement the same in the other borders. If your background fabric is too dark to use with a light box you will use the folding of your fabric as placement guides.
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