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January 1, 2008

Wool appliqué

Filed Under Designers, Embellishment, Fabrics, Guest posts, Raw edge, Threads, Wool 

You won’t believe what a fantastic post I’ve got for you to start out the new year, courtesy of appliqué designer Kaye Moore!

I’ve met Kaye a couple of times at her booth at Pacific International Quilt Festival. (I joked with her that she’s one of the reasons quilters want to put an “e” on my name.) This last October, I was drawn into her booth once more by the beautiful appliqué samples hung everywhere.

Kaye works exclusively with wool now, and I asked her if she would be willing to talk about some of the wonders of wool for appliqué. Wow! Kaye, who admits to being “a little bit passionate about wool,” sent me a fabulous, info-packed article! Here it is, in her words. Take it away, Kaye!

“The discovery of wool is simply one of the most wonderful stitching discoveries I’ve ever made. Without a clue to the new path I was about to travel, I purchased a wool kit for a pennyrug at a quilt show several years ago. I completed it quickly and purchased another and another and so on.

I had been in the quilt business, vending at quilt shows around the country, but had not found my “niche”. Thankfully my niche found me. Very quickly my booth became an all-wool booth.

What’s so wonderful about wool, you ask? For starters, you can appliqué without turning the edges under as you must do in traditional appliqué using cottons. Since the wool has been felted during the dyeing process, the edges will not ravel.

What is felting? Felting is the process of washing the wool in hot water, shocking it in cold and drying it in a hot dryer. Wool from old garments or cut from a bolt at a fabric store can be felted using this method. Felting compresses the fibers, making them very tight, thus no raveling.

While many designers recommend fusing the appliqué pieces to the background, I do not recommend that. To me, that defeats the purpose of wool, which is supposed to be soft and easy to sew through. I simply cut out the images to be appliquéd, pin them to the background, and buttonhole stitch them in place. Details such as veins in leaves and flowers, French knots, etc., can be added using simple embroidery stitches.

There may be an occasion when you get a wool that is very loosely woven and no matter how many times you felt it, because of the way it has been woven, it will never felt to the point where it will not ravel. In that instance, I do apply a bonding agent to the back of the piece to be appliquéd, but then I do not bond it to the background fabric, but simply stitch it to the background.

I do tell my customers, however, that if they have used a bonding agent in the past and are pleased with the results, then by all means do so again. Purchase the bonding agent of your choice and follow the manufacturer’s directions.

The traditional stitch for working with wool is the buttonhole stitch, but a primitive overcast stitch can also be used. Wool appliqué can be done by hand or machine.There are a lot of threads available and it’s best to try several to see which one works best for you. I like to use a variety of threads, often mixing them on the same project. Perle Cotton No. 12 and DMC floss are my two favorite threads. Perle Cotton No. 8 works well if the piece you are making has a primitive theme. I think No. 8 is too thick for most projects that are a little more sophisticated. There are also some wonderful hand-dyed wool threads available, many that have been dyed to match the wool. You can also add beading and ribbon embroidery to your wool projects.

Using hand-dyed wools for the appliqués is a delight for those of us to are enchanted with wonderful colors, which vary in depth and hue on a single piece of wool fabric.

All the quilts I have designed using wool appliqué have backgrounds from flannel. My favorite two flannels are Marcus Brothers flannel and Moda’s Marbled flannel. I do not pre-wash the flannel as it often has a sizing agent in it which gives it good body and makes it wonderful to stitch on.

I use flannel for the background of my quilts for three reasons:

1. It is much easier on my customer’s pocketbooks than wool.

2. When you sew the blocks together, you have a traditional seam. With an all-wool quilt, you either have lumpy seams or you must butt the edges of the blocks together and zigzag them. Then you must find a way to cover up where they have been joined.

3. If this is a quilt you are going to hang, you do not have to worry about it sagging. An all-wool quilt can be very heavy and possibly sag with time if it is a wallhanging.

While it would seem logical that quilts made from hand-dyed wool can be washed, I do not recommend washing your wool quilts. Depending on how the wool was woven and how it was felted, there is a possibility it can continue to shrink. I simply don’t think it’s worth taking the chance of ruining your quilt by washing it.

So, how to you care for a wool quilt? About once a year or so I put my quilts in the dryer on “Air” to remove the dust and refresh them. Should your quilt become soiled, you can have it professionally dry-cleaned or use a dry-cleaner packet you purchase at the grocery store. Pennyrugs and table toppers can be spot cleaned. Wool naturally repels water, so a spill can often be blotted up before any harm is done.

Wool projects are great “take along” projects. If you are waiting at the dentist’s office or for a child at an after-school activity, working on a wool project is a great way to pass the time and when completed you have a beautiful gift or treasure for yourself.

If you have not tried working with wool, I suggest you purchase a small project that can be completed quickly – one that has simple details. Once finished, I think you will be anxious to get that second project. I often tell my customers wool projects should carry a warning label because working with wool is addictive. It has certainly proven to be true for me!”

Thank you so much, Kaye! This is great information and all of us appliqué fans appreciate it. Please visit Kaye’s website to see her wonderful wool designs plus some fabulous patterns by other designers.

Here on the blog, hover your mouse over the designers and pattern companies in the sidebars to see others who specialize in wool.

Until next time,
Happy New Year,
Kay

Comments

8 Responses to “Wool appliqué”

  1. Jacqueline B. Diaz on October 27th, 2008 11:34 am

    Thank you so much for this post from Kaye Moore. I have been very interested in trying wool applique’ and have almost talked myself into moving forward and getting my “feet wet”, so to speak. I have been collecting wool from yard sales, second hand stores and fabric stores. The wools that aren’t felted, I have felted and put away. I have been trying to decide if I should leave them the way they are or if I should dye them. I think, after reading this excerpt, I am going to dye a few pieces and see what happens. Once again, thank you for this post. It is has been both inspiring and helpful! Hope to see more!
    Jacqueline

  2. Deborah on January 25th, 2009 2:15 pm

    I too use flannel for a background with wool quilts. I have been using wool for a couple years now and just love it! I can get projects done in half the time it takes with cotton applique. Thanks for the wonderful post.

  3. Bonnie on April 20th, 2010 5:59 am

    Hello,
    Help.
    I just started my first wool applique with wonder under and I had to move some of the pieces around after I had adhered them….do I cut a new wonder under and re iron them or is there some thing else that would work better?
    Thank you for your help in this project!
    Bonnie

  4. Pulling up wool : All About Applique on May 12th, 2010 10:31 am

    […] up a fused wool motif might stretch it. Kay Moore, who gave us a wonderful and comprehensive article about wool appliqué. reminds me that this very issue is why she doesn’t work with fusibles (along with wanting to […]

  5. The woolies : All About Applique on May 25th, 2011 11:28 am

    […] the articles pertaining to wool that have already been published on the blog. A really good one is Kaye Moore’s guest post, and there’s a fabulous photo tutorial on the Cottons ‘n Wool […]

  6. Linda on February 28th, 2012 5:28 pm

    I am making my first hand dyed wool appliqué quilt. I am using a beige linen for the blocks (9 1/2″) and black linen for the outside border..about 6″wide. Small square blocks made of two triangles of beige and black linen are between the blocks and outside before the border. It is rich and is amazing. Line is a beautiful background fabric.

  7. Donna on October 25th, 2013 7:26 am

    I am making my first wool applique quilt. When you are appliqueing pedals of a flower to your block do you butt the pedals up to each other or overlap them? Thanks for your help.

  8. admin on October 25th, 2013 8:15 am

    Hi Donna! Kay here… not the wool specialist, but it seems to me that you could do either one! Whichever look you like the best. There’s no wrong or right.

    Have fun with it. K.