*** Tricia emailed me a while ago looking for some guidance when doing fusible web appliqué so I decided to write a tutorial for those of you who are new to using fusible web. Thanks, Tricia, for the great idea.

It was in about 1995 that I first discovered fusible web and fusible appliqué. Being a relatively new quilter I had been focusing on acquiring a set of skills that were slightly different than those of garment making...you know, the usual suspects...patchwork using 1/4” seam allowances, matching seams, hand appliqué, chain piecing, etc. Well, I had come to find out that, although I loved the look of hand appliqué, I really did not enjoy doing it. So when this new-fangled product, fusible web, arrived on the market I was curious about giving it a try.

Believe me when I say that I made a lot of mistakes at the beginning because I was teaching myself how to use it (long before YouTube) and my iron and ironing board fell victim to these mistakes. I was always getting the fusible web residue on both, and ended up messing up quite a few projects, but I persevered and now I have no problems with it at all. I'll take you step by step with how to use it properly so you can follow along while making a simple project.

What exactly is fusible web?

Fusible web is a sheet of adhesive that's meant to bond two pieces of fabric together with heat. It is sold by the yard/metre or in packaged sheets or rolls. One side of it is smooth (the paper side) while the other side has a slightly rough texture (the glue side). Designs are traced with the paper side up and then fused to the wrong side of the fabric. For this reason any designs have to be mirror image (reversed). Some commercial patterns are already reversed for you while some are not.

Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 has paper on both sides. The paper on one side removes very easily...that's not the side to draw your designs on...test it before you draw out all your designs. The nice thing about this particular product is that it's slightly tacky so your pieces don't shift as they are being put in place on the background.

Fusible Web brands

There are many different brands of fusible web on the market in a variety of thicknesses. The one I use the most is Soft Fuse, but I often use Wonder Under, Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 and occasionally Misty Fuse, but there are many other brands...Heat'N'Bond, Thermoweb, Wonder Fuse, EZ Steam and Flexi Fuse. Misty Fuse is probably the finest, but it has no paper to trace designs on. This fusible web is fused to the back of the fabric in sheets and then cut out freehand, or pattern pieces are drawn onto the fabric once it's been fused. My Elton John quilt was made using Misty Fuse.

Important things I learned about fusible web appliqué:

• not all fusible webs are created equal. Some are very light while others are much thicker and some gum up the needle more than others.

• it's a huge pain in the butt trying to remove fusible web from the iron and ironing board so be sure to protect them with a teflon sheet or parchment paper

• a design can be built on a teflon sheet before it's permanently fused to the main fabric (this was a game-changer for me)

• designs must be mirror image when tracing them out on the paper side of fusible web (or they'll be backwards when fused...especially important when using lettering). Anyone else remember Karen, standing in front of the mirror, gluing crystals to her chest in the shape of a “K” in the movie Mean Girls? That’s what will happen if the letters aren’t in reverse!

Let's get started....

The project I've designed is a welcome banner with a bowl of fun, funky flowers. They are all drawn freehand so they may look a little wonky, but as I was told by an art teacher a long time ago...there are no straight lines in nature. Have fun using your favourite colours and fabric lines.

The Funky Flowers design and alphabet can be found on the freebies page here...just print off the pages required for this project OR choose a design of your own...the technique is the same regardless of what project you work on. The entire alphabet has been provided for you so if you want another sentiment other than “welcome” feel free to use it.

*** The letters have already been reversed for you so just trace them as is.

Supplies:

• your choice of fusible web (I used 2 ½ sheets (8” x 9”) of Soft Fuse for this project)

• pencil or fine line marker for tracing

• sharp serrated scissors for cutting out fusible web shapes...these Olfa brand ones are my faves. I've also heard great things about Karen K. Buckley's scissors, but I haven't tried them myself.

• teflon sheet (or for those bakers out there apparently parchment paper works well too, but I haven't personally tried it so don’t take my word for it!). My favourite appliqué pressing sheet is from Bear Thread Designs because it's strong and opaque (so designs can be seen through it), but there are many others on the market that work just as well.

• A variety of quilting cottons...I used one fat quarter for the background, 7 brights for the flowers, 3 different greens for the leaves, a small allover print for the bowl and one fabric for the lettering. Small scraps or fat quarters are perfect for this project.

• I find a pair of long handled tweezers very helpful for putting individual segments in place

Tracing the designs:

Using a pencil or fine line marker trace all your pattern shapes onto the paper side of the fusible web leaving a small space in between each one. It's very helpful to arrange all the shapes for each individual colour next to each other so they can be grouped together on that particular fabric. For this project I traced 2 of each flower and multiple flower centres of each colour used so I could mix and match and stack them. I divided the page using a blue line so you can see how I organized the different colours and pattern shapes.

Fusing to the wrong side of the fabric:

Cut a piece of fabric large enough for the section of fusible (or use scraps), place it glue side down on the wrong side of the fabric, protect the iron by putting a teflon sheet or parchment paper on top and press the iron down. When using the Soft Fuse I held the iron down for about 3-4 seconds on the cotton setting (no steam), but follow manufacturers' instructions for whatever particular product you plan on using. Doing a test sample will help too.

Once the fabric has cooled cut out all the pattern shapes, but don't remove the backing paper just yet. Sometimes the shapes stick together (especially Lite Steam-A-Seam 2) before you need them. Hang onto any of the excess scraps that have fusible on them...they can be cut freehand if another flower centre or leaf is needed for the project. And just to give you a heads up...you will be absolutely certain that you've cut out a particular shape, look everywhere for it, can't find it so you cut out another one and when you go to finally use it you will find the original stuck to your sock! Ask me how I know.

When you're ready to build the complete design it's time to remove the paper backings. Some come away easily, but others can be more stubborn. Rather than try to remove the papers from the edges score the paper near the centre with a pin and the paper comes away very easily. This also prevents the edges from fraying.

And believe me when I tell you that you will be cursing the fusible web because it’s not sticking properly…and then you’ll give yourself the forehead slap because you’ve forgotten to remove the paper backing. Again, ask me how I know.

I like to pre-fuse individual components of a design because it's easier to manage them that way. The teflon sheet is large enough that the individual flowers can be built on one side and the teflon sheet can be folded over to protect the iron. Build each individual flower mixing the centres, stacking some, and if any centres are left over just create smaller flowers...these can be used as “fillers” if necessary. Once they are arranged to your liking, protect the iron with the teflon sheet and press down with a hot, dry iron. Let them cool completely and very gently remove them from the teflon sheet.

Now it's time to build the whole flower bowl. Arrange the flowers and leaves to your liking on top of one half of the teflon sheet...this way the other half can be folded over to protect the iron when the fusing is being done. The long handled tweezers come in very handy for placing the small units together. If there are any open spaces between components just add some more green behind them to fill them in. This is why the trimmed cuttings can be useful. And remember, it can be done by building different sections on the teflon sheet before fusing everything to the background.

Occasionally I use the tip of the iron to “spot fuse” a couple of pieces together so they don't shift as I'm working on the other areas. The final step is to fuse all of the flowers, leaves and bowl together to create one large fusible design. Once it's completely cooled it can be removed from the teflon sheet and fused to the background fabric. Centre and fuse the letters above the flower bowl and you're done until Part 2.

I hope you found this helpful. Join me next month for tips and tricks for machine stitching the appliqué shapes. There's always so much to learn!

*** Even though I have included links for those of you who do not have easy access to stores, I highly recommend supporting your local brick & mortar quilt/sewing store by shopping there. If they don’t have these notions in stock they should be able to order them in for you if they are available from their suppliers.