CraftFilter: How to attach applique with embroidery, for dummies.

The easiest way I know of to turn under the edges is the "sew and turn" method from Mackerelly's link. You cut your shapes out of the applique fabric, and you cut some more out of scrap fabric or interfacing. Place the applique fabric shape and the scrap fabric shape right sides facing eachother and sew along the edges. Then carefully cut a slit in the middle of the scrap fabric piece (make sure you don't cut through to the good fabric). Turn the whole thing inside out through the slit and iron flat. Then sew the shape onto your backing piece. You can even put a little stuffing in the shape before you sew it down if you want a little dimension to it.

What sort of fabric are you using? If you pick at the cut edge, can you pick out threads? If not, no seam needed. Otherwise, you will need to make a seam (you could make do with some iron-on interfacing, too, but that depends on how much time you have and whether or not you can/ want to run to the fabric store) or pink the edges, which might work well if you're aiming for a sort of country, rustic look. Do you have pinking shears? I used a sewing machine pretty exclusively, so I can't be of help as to your hand embroidery; again, though, iron-on interfacing might come in helpful to help anchor the piece and give it some stiffness (which may or may not be desirable).

This is a http://quilting.about.com/od/appliqutechniques/ss/needleturn.htm. Good luck - I'm sure it will look great!

Here's a good http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=518 by a quilter for doing appliques. She uses a machine for the stitching, but you should be able to do it by hand. Doing a buttonhole stitch by hand will be time consuming, but it will be a nice finish.

Thank you so much for the help. I'm looking at the tutorials now. Thank you -- that sort of thing is exactly what I needed. To answer the questions above: the fabric is cotton, I believe. It frayed a bit in the washer/dryer, so I'm assuming the end needs turned under (if that's what you mean by whether a seam is needed). No pinking shears handy. Could run to the store if necessary. (I'd go if going would save more time than it'd take.)

Appliqué (with a buttonhole stitch-type finish) without a sewing machine would be very slow and probably drive you insane if you haven't sewn before. This means that yes, you're going to have to turn the edges under. It would probably be easiest to use iron-on interfacing or magic hemming tape of some kind (umm, it's basically a strip of iron-on interfacing, you fold the fabric into the right place and put the tape wherever it should be, then the heat from the iron melts it all together. soldering, for fabric), then attach the magically hemmed animal to the background. You probably don't want blanket stitch, unless http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2007/09/tutorial-hand-sew-felt.aspx (in the first picture) is the kind of effect you want. For a beginner project, I think you'd be able to get a nice effect with running stitch - go for something bright and contrasting, maybe, rather than trying to match the fabric colour exactly ... http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_L1vSuQG9qIw/Skh-02kYe8I/AAAAAAAACFI/OMnXUwt4J00/s1600-h/S6302674.JPG kind of thing, but maybe with better colours ... you can always double it, going back along and filling in the gaps to create a solid line of stitching (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7202563@N02/4357450921/ kind of thing). I'd use running stitch for the detail in the wings, too. Good luck!

Thanks so much. This is all starting to make sense. I don't want to mark "best answers" because it took both tutorials for me to have any sort of a clue about anything, and now I'm most likely going to do this "sew and turn" method, probably because having once made a beanbag, it made sense to me, and also because it seems extra sturdy and perhaps easier to repair. I'm starting to think about how all this relates to my shapes. I'm looking at a simplified version of http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/2100/2198/dragonfly_1_lg.gif or http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/2004patterns/DragonflyShadow.jpg for my pattern, so there's a pretty narrow part. I like the idea of making the body puffy. MadamM made a great point about the quilting step, and since I'll be there the day they piece it all together, I'm thinking about maybe bringing some embroidery floss with me and have a discussion about that general question with them. I hold great respect for those of you with all of this knowledge, and I'm even starting to see how this could be fun! Many thanks!

Hmmm.... some helpful but sobering reality from Lebannen. I didn't quite think through how long all that stitching would take. I do have a few good movies. Maybe this magic hemming tape is necessary. The fabric store is going to close soon, so I'm trying to think through ... that stiff backing stuff, magic hemming tape, iron-on interfacing. Which is easier, the turn-it-inside-out method, the magic hemming tape method, or the "tunnel" method that MadamM describes? (The latter two sound very similar to me: is that right?) "Sew and turn" would require two round of sewing (one to hem it and one to attach it), while the other methods basically attach it and hem it at the same time, right? Which is more beginner-proof? :)

I think the easiest method of applique is to use a lightweight fusible interfacing (I use Heat and Bond Light) to affix the applique to the base fabric (it's like making your own iron-on). You do need to stitch the edges to make everything washable. I've used blanket stitch on such appliques and they've turned out nicely. It would probably be the fastest way to get your applique done (although it won't look quite as polished as a turned-under, no stitches showing applique).