reverse applique snowflakes ~

and so, here is the reverse appliqué method.  simplicity, and effectively accomplished with my accuquilt snowflake die and gray and white fabrics:

i carefully laid my solid piece of silver gray sparkly fabric on top of the die, being careful to fold a center line, which then was centered in the middle of the middle snowflake!  sounds complicated {but it’s not}.  just measure. and take your time.  and this is what it will look like after you’re done:

i placed the die-cut silver gray fabric on top of the white fabric, which is a soft pearly dotted fabric, making the white fabric slightly larger so i could center the gray fabric on top.  this method uses two fabrics, which may seem wasteful, but it adds stability, and keeps things nice and neat.  

the next thing i did was to use the glue-baste-it to lightly dap dots of glue on the snowflake edges:

and of course, i always prefer to press fabric with mary ellen’s best press starch product to keep the fabric from being too flimsy.

and then i began to quilt the outside edges, using white thread and an open toe free motion foot.  of course, if you aren’t comfortable with free motion this can be done with a walking foot, too.  but… much easier, and lickety-split with free motion.  i’m stitching with about an 1/8″ distance from the edge.  it’s just eyeballin’ it ~ no need to get trapped into perfection here.  the overall quilting will take over your eye anyway {once you’re finished!}

and i love the added texture of the reverse appliqué edges, too.  i also added free motion stitching lines to the inside of the snowflake, to give a bit more added dimension:

now let me answer a question you may be asking: will it fray when it’s been washed?  yes ~ a little bit.  although metallic printed fabrics tend to fray less than others.  and also, that’s why i stitched close to the edges. to minimize any fraying, it will also be helpful to wash this using the delicate cycle setting {or hand washing}, and then absolutely drying flat {not in the dryer}. 

if fraying is something you can’t live with, there are two things i say:  1.  this is not the method for you! and, 2.  first, fuse the snowflakes down with steam-a-seam { i prefer lite steam-a-seam2}.  steam-a-seam most generally effectively prevents  edges from fraying.  

below is the method for fusing the entire piece of fabric i’m going to cut.  i will further cut it into squares to fit my die {to minimize fabric waste}, cut it out, and then fuse the shapes to the quilt/fabric top.

it’s not reverse appliqué, but is what we call “fusible appliqué” ~ easily accomplished by pre-fusing the fabrics, and cutting any shape out individually, and fusing on as you like!

reversible applique ~ above; surface applique {or fusible applique} below:

here’s a picture of the reverse side: {which also makes this piece reversible, as well!}