Free Motion Applique

Y’all know I loves me some appliqué and one of my favorites is Free Motion Applique. I’ve got a simple project that anyone can do ~ anyone! It’s so simple it was hard to photograph the steps.

Today, I’m sharing a Free Motion Applique two Silhouette appliqué products: Sewable Fabric Interfacing and Clean cut Fabric Interfacing. For this project I used the Sewable Fabric Interfacing.

Silhouette calls their fusible web product ‘fabric interfacing’ which can be confusing for those of us who sew since interfacing is what you add to flimsy fabric to give it shape. Sewable Fabric Interfacing is a high quality fusible web that irons on like a dream. Once you peel away the backing it is smooth and not webby.

For my project I used a design from the Silhouette Online Store called 2 Layer Bird. I ungrouped the design and deleted everything but the bird’s body.

Remember: You don’t have to own a Silhouette to make this design. You can download their software for free and then purchase the design in the Silhouette Store for $.99. Just hand cut out the design while you save for your Silhouette. (affiliate)

I ironed a small piece of the Sewable Fabric Interfacing (aka fusible web) to the back of my fabric, removed the paper backing, put it in the Silhouette, and hit ‘Cut’. It took all of 3 minutes. Next I centered my design onto a piece of linen and ironed it down.

I used a Frixion pen (affiliate link) to outline my hoop so I would know where to place my bird. It was a happy accident that the white circle in the fabric was about where an eye should be. I just drew in a smaller eye that I will sew in.

Notice that I added some embellishment to my design by drawing in a tail, beak, and some ‘hair’. This will be part of my Free Motion Applique.

One thing to always do when you are working with free motion sewing is to stabilize the back of the fabric before you begin sewing. This step should never be skipped because you will have one big stitchy mess on your hands.

There is no magic to free-motion sewing. You just start sewing. I used an Open-Toe Foot and I went over everything twice. You don’t have to use an open toe foot but it made it easier to see exactly where I was sewing. Because this is such a small project I did NOT drop the feed dogs. If it were larger I would’ve put on a different foot (may Darning) and dropped the feed dogs before Free Motion Stitching.

For the eye I used my machine’s button sewing stitch. It is a one-button, pre-programmed stitch that does a quick pre-set zigzag in place. Note: The linen background fabric looks darker here because I spritzed it with water to photograph. It was too close to my wall’s color and otherwise wouldn’t have shown up in the photo. In case you were wondering. 

Like I said, anyone can do this project ~ even if you cannot afford a Silhouette at this time. Visit Silhouette and download their free software; sign up for free weekly designs from the Silhouette Online Store. Print designs and hand cut them until you get your own Silhouette.

If you want to further develop your appliqué skills, check out my eBook:

Applique Made Easy: A Beginner’s Guide to Simple Appliqué Techniques

*** I’m a fan and affiliate of Silhouette and will be compensated if you purchase something using the provided links with the promo code SEASONED. ***