Fabric Appliques are an amazing and simple craft item that you can use to add a personal touch or flair to nearly anything you are working on!

Appliques are made with a fusible web adhesive.  There are 2 main kinds of adhesive, Regular and Ultra Hold.  The Regular webbing is thinner and is typically used on appliques that will then be sewed, painted or attached with edging in some other way.  The Ultra Hold is thick and cannot be used with any type of sewing machine or serger because it will gum up and ruin the needle being used.   Appliques made with Ultra Hold can also be painted or trimmed ~ they just cannot be sewn down!

There are thousands of appliques available for purchase in nearly any type of style, character, design, team or theme that you could imagine!  After you decide which appliques you would like and whether you want the simple no sewing Ultra type or the appliques that need additional sewing you can start your search for your perfect appliques!

Some appliques are cut in different manners.  Some are cut very intricately and some have a small background left.  I prefer a small portion of the background being left on the appliques which leaves room for painting, glitter or other items even though I use the Ultra webbing.   If you find appliques that you LOVE and have a bit of edging on them that you don't want there you can always trim that little portion off when you receive your package.

Using fabric appliques is such an easy process!   Turn on your normal household iron to the silk/medium setting and let it heat up.   It is advised that you wash and dry the item you are going to use your appliques on but you cannot use fabric softner or sheets!   The appliques will not stick properly!   Make sure the item you are using is wrinkle free and turned with the portion you are going to use facing you!   If you are making a shirt, make sure the shirt front is on top, facing you.   Peel the backing off of your applique and place it right where you want it to be.   Place the iron gently on the first portion of the applique, hold for approximately 8 seconds.  Move the iron to the next section, slightly overlapping the area you just bonded and repeat.   It's best to not jiggle or "iron back and forth" on the applique as it could peel up and be ruined.  That's IT!   That's all it takes to create your one of a kind awesome project!

What types of things can you make with fabric appliques?  How far can you let your imagination run?  You can take a plain T*shirt and turn it into a totally unique item featuring any favorite of yours!   You can add appliques to Blue Jeans (Front, Back or Pockets!), Hats (children's hats look especially sweet with darling character appliques!), Gloves, Scarves, Socks, Overalls, Onesies, Jackets (they are GREAT for jean jackets!), Personalized Nightshirts, Pillowcases (My daughter is a Level 5 gymnast with pillowcases made from my gymnastics appliques), Blankets, Quilts, Wallhangings, Towels (just for show!), Comfortors, Curtains, Placemants ~ as you can see the options are absolutely endless!


Appliques can even be applied to wood type boxes, walls or doors!  They stick like glue but might damage the wall a bit if  you try to remove them!  If your kitchen has a theme and you want your bread box or potatoe catch to match the rest of your theme ~ appliques are a great way to do that!

Any scrapbookers out there should know how great appliques are for scrapbooking!  All you have to do is hold the appliques with a small tool like tweezers, heat the backing with a hair or heat dryer until the glue melts and then you add those appliques to your scrapbooking project!  Now how unique will THAT page be?!

Appliques make great gifts for many different occasions.  Any child's birthday party should have appliques as a party favor!   They are so easy to use with parental supervision and a young child will feel a HUGE sense of accomplishment after making their very own project!   They can wear their new shirt (or anything else they make!) with pride knowing they made it by themselves!    Appliques make unique small gifts for team sports banquets in the designated sport.  They can be given as shower favors with baby designs.

Appliques can also help promote awareness.   You can show your support for Breast Cancer Awareness or Autism Awareness with appliques available in those designs.

Fabric Appliques are a GREAT unique and inexpensive way to add your own personality and touch to nearly anything.  As long as you have an imagination and you can run with it your options of creating are limitless!!