Handmade applications of fabric: varieties, creation algorithm and choice of material

Creativity - part of the educational process, an important condition for the development of a harmonious personality, regardless of the type of handicraft. Applique made of fabric is considered more practical than a flat figure made of colored paper, it can be used as a decoration.

With templates at your disposal, it is easy to create spectacular patches and decorations to modernize things. Practical tips from the masters will be useful to anyone who wants to create something new, wielding scissors and a needle and thread.

Algorithm of creating applications from fabric

For neat work you need good tools and quality materials. The overall appearance of patchwork applique made of fabric depends largely on the technique in which the work is performed, as well as on the way the elements of the composition are connected.

Important stages of work or algorithm of the creative process:

1. Preparation of the flap and the basis (background).
2. Selection of templates, taking into account the preferred image sizes and themes, if it is a fabric applique for children.
3. Making patterns or templates for each element of the patchwork image, especially when the technique is complex or multi-layered.
4. Cutting out colored blocks according to templates.
5. Processing a loose edge (overcasting, hand overcasting) if the fabric involves a cut.
6. Overlaying appliqué fragments on a base (a piece of fabric, a piece of clothing, solid material for a panel) to evaluate the preliminary result until it is attached.
7. Fixing with glue or hemming the parts of the composition.

Completion of the finished image is performed only after the final fixation of parts. This is embroidery, decorating with beads and stones, drawing details of the face or fixing "running eyes".

Ways to connect the elements of the applique

Do not hurry to fasten the elements to the base. To begin with, you need to place all the details of a flat or volumetric applique made of fabric on a table or other horizontal plane. Immediately the proportionality and color scheme of the future panel will be evident, especially if it is created without a preliminary sketch.

Useful tip! It is not necessary to leave small fragments of a composition without a temporary fixation, they can crumble or move from inadvertent movement of the hand. Fragments are attached to the base with special sartorial pins - thin plays with colored balls on the end.

Thin needles are used to fix the appliqué. They do not leave marks, if you need to tweak some element to move it slightly to the side.

For stitching, most often use cotton threads. It is better to sew with quality sewing threads #40 (semi-synthetic).

Mounting on glue - one of the ways to create an appliqué of fabric - 3rd grade school teaches how to do it extremely accurately. Use textile glue or PVA - it does not "harden a kolom", as "Super Glue" or "Moment", and remains slightly elastic after polymerization.

Particularly carefully need to sew elements with sharp corners - some of the fabric can crumble. For example, the star rays and pointed leaves are better stitched along the fixing seam, so that the fabric is not delaminated.

Fragments of the fabric appliqué are sewn by hand or by alternating layers with a sewing machine using fine stitching. Suitable types of stitches:

• looping (overcasting);
• chain stitch;
• ironing stitches (tight parallel stitches);
• crossed or "goatskin";
• double (diagonal stitches in one direction, then in the opposite direction in the same way)
• Machine stitch (fine zig-zag).

Some hand stitches are highly decorative, while others simultaneously with the fixation overcast the edges. Based on this, choose a way to sew an appliqué in the form of a butterfly or a fabric flower.

Important! When fixing, glue must be used in dosage, so that it does not spread beyond the elements. Once the process is complete, you need to give time to dry so that the parts of the pattern will not shift.

Some fabrics have an adhesive backing. They are not sewn on, but dry or with damp gauze. Decorative patches are fixed in a similar way, by lining them with double-sided adhesive fleece.

A less practical way is to stick melted polyethylene film in the intermediate layer between the appliqué and the base. Foil is put underneath and a fragment slightly larger than the element to be cut out, creating a "thermos" for the melting of the adhesive layer.

Varieties of applique made of fabric

Fabric pictures can be conventionally classified:

1. Decorative applique. The high variability of methods gives ample opportunity to decorate handbags, frayed jeans, plaids, sofa cushions and other interior textiles.
2. Subject Applique. Visually, it is a recognizable image consisting of individual colored fragments.
3. Subject composition. A complex applique, in which a certain sequence of events is "read off". For example, a fisherman sits on the bank of the river, surrounded by seals waiting for his catch.

Regarding the technique of performing patchwork images, experts distinguish between flat, volumetric, multi-layered and reverse.

Reverse fabric applique

An interesting technique - reverse applique, it is used not so often, but it deserves a separate consideration.

This technique is often used in shoemaking - it is a slits on the base, through which the colored backing of the leather is shining through.

Reverse applique is performed not only on leather, but also on any fabric. To perform applique with perforations it is desirable to take dense materials - without deformation and crumbling of the edges. It looks very attractive on clothes, but you will have to overstitch all the holes over the colored backing.

The simplest applique made of fabric for small children

It is difficult for children to perceive abstraction or conventional images, especially if the fabric pattern does not coincide with the general idea. For them, it is better to choose templates of quite recognizable pictures.

Preschoolers are close and understandable to natural objects, weather phenomena, birds, animals and insects.

Girls gladly perform applications with flowers, dolls, matreshkas, kittens and puppies.

Boys like to make cars, tanks, boats and airplanes from the scraps.

With starchy fabric and dense materials, children are more willing to work, especially when the glue method is offered.

Applications of fabric for preschool children

Children are happy to participate in the making of appliqués from fabric on templates. To do this, you need to teach the child to neatly outline a cardboard blank attached to a dense fabric, or paper.

Then use sharp scissors to carefully cut out element by element, which should form a single image.

Not every child will be able to beautifully draw a recognizable object, but on the template is able to perform applique with an image of a cartoon character, or a simple object.

Children are good at completing a three-dimensional composition in the form of a tree, a bouquet of flowers, balloons, or the starry sky with the Moon and Saturn.

Animals

Most children like to make images of pets. But keep in mind that kittens and puppies, geese and ducks, calves and goats turn out well only on a template.

Small details of faces, eyes and spouts are better made by an adult, when the main process is completed. Children can add their own decorations to the finished application. Instruct the boy to sew on the buttons in the form of flowers - an excellent labor experience of self-care.

Insects

A very popular theme when choosing an applique - the world around us. Preschoolers are familiar with insects:

• beetles;
• butterflies;
• dragonflies;
• grasshoppers;
• ladybugs.

Young children will enjoy picking their own fabric for the future character. Tell your child that polka-dot fabric is the best solution for ladybug wings, even if they are different colors and formats of polka-dots.

Tree

Landscape elements look good in applique form. Autumn and winter trees, snow-covered and summer Christmas trees, stumps with flies and snails.

The trunk of the tree can be supplemented with embroidered twigs, and each leaf can be decorated and sewn separately.

Birds

Birds look good in any version. It can be a crow from a cartoon or a magnificent peacock decorated with sequins.

A child will be equally interested in doing with their own hands a flock of flying swallows or chickens and roosters peacefully walking around the yard.

Important! The main advantage of this theme is simplicity. The preschooler is able to "animate" the bird - to make a triangular beak and sew on eyes.

Vegetables and fruits

What do applications in the form of still life, a whole garden of apples, pears and cherries, a bed of pumpkins and watermelons have in common? That's right - fruits, and they come in different shapes. When making such a collage, it is recommended to strengthen the concept of shape with your child:

• slightly flattened ball - an apple;
• a circle - cherries;
• oval or ellipse - melon;
• Crescent - banana.

Attention! Fulfilling the composition with several fruits, try to pick up fabrics, as much as possible matching the color of real vegetables and fruits.

Mushrooms from felt

This theme is very fond of children. Mushrooms are easy to perform, they are recognizable. The child will surely like the white mushroom with autumn leaves. But it can be supplemented with doors and a window in the form of a house for an insect.

Handsome mochomore does not need additions. It can be made of red polka-dotted fabric and supplemented with a lace skirt on the leg.

Useful tip! Offer your child a creative retreat - independently complement the composition with new elements. For example, a snail or applique butterfly from colored fabric, sitting on a mushroom.

Moss, grass, small flowers, fallen leaves - additions to the "mushroom" theme can be varied to infinity.

Floral applique from fabric

On the theme of flowers can come up with a variety of subjects. For applique, the most suitable are:

• plethora and garden flowers;
• daisies;
• tulips;
• daffodils
• fantasy flowers in a vase;
• roses as independent objects of application or as a whole bouquet.

Any fabric will do for the vase, the color of the petals can be easily varied. For children's perception will be better if the leaves will be green, the middle - yellow. It can be filled with shiny beads, beads or sequins.

Cloth appliqué for clothing decorations

A spectacular pattern made of colored flap is a good way to decorate a knitted coat, homemade bag or denim jacket:

Important! Applique on clothing should not be deformed during washing and ironing. Materials are selected not natural base, they should not shed or burn out quickly.

The preferred method of fixation is double stitching, so that the edges are securely attached to the garment.

Examples of children's clothes with applique made by hand.

A panel made of fabric

A beautiful composition from a patchwork can find a worthy place in interior design. This is a great decor for an accent wall in the children's room or in the dining room area of the living-dining room. The only condition - the performance of the panel from the fabric at a high artistic level.

Pay attention! The pictorial panel is made on a rigid base. The way of fastening does not matter - it will not be subjected to mechanical stresses, like clothes or a bag with applique.

A beautiful plot drawing from pieces of fabric can be supplemented with any decor - beads, lurex embroidery, sequins.

Advanced level for lovers of needlework is a master class on Japanese silk applique.

Useful tips for creating appliqués from fabric

Without experience, it is difficult to create a beautiful appliqué without a preliminary sketch or a ready-made template. The image you like can be enlarged or reduced with a computer program and printed on a printer.

You can make adjustments in color, based on what flap is available.

Pre-arrangement with fixing pins is a mandatory part of the work process. It is desirable to visually assess the layout in daylight and artificial light, perhaps some fragment of the pattern will want to replace.

It is better to sew the hem on the edge at the very end, and fix the base fabric in another way. However, the background fabric on a piece of plywood or a threshold is better to fix it securely before creating the composition.

When working in a combined technique, embroidery and applique on a thin base, use an embroidery hoop (double circle for embroidery). It is recommended to work with a thimble to fix pieces of leather and tight denim, so as not to prick the needle. We offer to evaluate the work of children and adults in the patchwork technique.

Photos of appliquéd fabric