What to do with all those fabric scraps…hmmm…problem solved! Turn them into puffy fabric appliques! I have a box of nothing but fabric scraps, including images I’ve printed out on fabric paper. Rather than throw all of them out, I salvaged them by making a batch of appliques. These are fun to keep on hand because you can iron them on to t-shirts, totes, jackets, even jeans or shoes. OK, so here is how I did it!
Puffy Fabric Appliques
Supplies:
pinking shears
fabric image (can be cut out from an old t-shirt, or a patch you have or fabric transfer paper)
Assorted fabric scraps
Pinch of batting
Pins
Sewing machine
fusible web or liquid fusible web (great for heavier appliques!)
How to make one:
Cut out your image and lay it on a piece of fabric that will act as a nice border. Add a pinch of batting between the two pieces and pin in place. Sew it in place. If there are clean lines, sew along thelines to give it more texture. Now sew it to a larger piece and keep adding on until you get it the size you want. When you are done, zigzag around the edges a couple times so it won’t fray.
Apply the fusible web according to package directions. However, I got so excited, I added painted dots on my ricrack and I really should have waited until i ironed it on my tote bag. But I managed to iron around the paint, no tears – thank goodness!
Iron it on your item. I put mine on a tote bag that I plan to garnish even further.
The picture at the very top show appliques that I hand stitched onto Mexican woven totes that I scored for $5 bucks each. For a more sparkling look, pile on the sequins, crystals, and glitter.
The cool thing about making appliques is you can use those iron on letters, or cut out images from fabric or vintage embroidered tea towels and so forth.
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Author of Crafty Chica’s Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
