Using Applique Pressing Sheets

Sometimes, when you're working with fusible web applique, you fall in love with a pattern that has a lot of little pieces, and it can be kind of tricky to get the pieces just where you want them before you fuse them in place on your background. In that case, I'm a real fan of an applique pressing sheet. This one is from Bear Thread Designs, but the pattern I'm using, it's called The Swing by Debbi Hubbs, and it's from the Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. And here's how it works. With my pattern came a placement diagram, that's what this is, it's a placement diagram.

It shows you where everybody goes. It's not what I use to cut the patches. All my applique pieces were from another piece of paper that has everything set out individually. This is my placement page. So I've put on top of it my fusible applique, this is my applique pressing sheet.

You can also use parchment paper, making sure you put the non-stick side up and do a little experimentation with it before you get going. But I have here, I'm just putting my iron a little cooler, so it has a chance to cool off. All right, what I'm going to do is I'm going to layer up from the bottom up the different pieces of my rooster. Now it's gonna start with R1, rooster one. That's his back leg.

So I'm just gonna put it right over my little placement diagram like that. And I'll just leave it right there. Okay, the next one is R2, it's R2. That's his thigh. Okay, so we're gonna put that, I'm gonna put that right there, knowing that I need to leave some of this to go under his tummy, okay, like that.

R3 is his other leg. Okay, and I really, this is so easy, cause I can see exactly where everything's supposed to be and I can see a number there, so it's really helpful. Okay, here's the other thigh. I've never seen a rooster thigh that looked like that. I think if I did, I wouldn't eat it.

There, there, I've got my thighs there. So one, two, three, and four. Now R5 is his left wing. So I'm gonna put that there, like that. It's like Colorforms when you're little.

Okay, and R6, which ones are six. It's his beak, now here's his beak. I prepared all these ahead of time with fusible web, the way you'd normally do it. I traced it, traced the designs for the templates onto fusible web, fused it to the back of my fabrics, cut them out and then took the paper off the back. Okay, so that was, what number was that?

I lost my place, R6. Okay, R7 is his comb. We'll put that, see the R7 right there. I'm aligning it with those little outlines. Okay, R8 is his tummy.

Okay, here we go, his big tummy. Oops, move my page, there we go. Make sure I'm right where I wanna be cause something moved. I guess it was his wing. There's his wing, putting it back where it belongs, and here's his tummy.

Okay, there, it looks just about right. Whoops, right there. Okay, make sure my thigh didn't slide too far out. There we go, now that's looking better. Ah!

Okay, in place, there we go. Make sure that wing's where it belongs. Okay. All right, now after that comes R9. R9 is his neck and it's just gonna go on top of the other ones that were put down first.

That's why they're numbered the way they are, so that you can put them down in order. Okay, ooh, he's starting to look like a rooster, yay! Okay, now his waddle, I guess that's what you call that. Okay, there we go, little guy. There we go.

Ah, stay, I wanna just nudge that in place, there, okay. And after that comes his other wing and his oh so fabulous tail, tail is his crowning glory. Okay, I've got that just in place. Now doesn't he look fabulous? He's got a couple of eyes, but I'm not gonna try and put those on right now.

I'm gonna put those on once I get him in place, I'll probably stitch a couple of French knots. All right, so now that I have everything where I want it, I'm just gonna press straight down and what's happening is that I'm fusing the different pieces together where they overlap or underlie one another. Okay, there, and I'm, you have to follow your manufacturer's instructions. If your manufacturer says to fuse for 10 seconds, you can sing happy birthday to you, that takes care of your 10 seconds. Okay, now I'm gonna let that cool.

And while that's cooling, okay, I'm just gonna move this out of the way. Oh, yeah, I am. Okay, now if he's almost cool, sometimes it takes a little while. Again, if you're using parchment paper, it'll work, but you only want to use the parchment paper once, I wouldn't reuse it. The applique pressing sheet you'll use for years.

Look at that, it's not stuck. Okay, I am peeling this off. There we go, carefully. Look at that, he's stuck together, yay He's got thighs stuck to his tummy and his wings and his little comb. I think this is a really cute pattern.

All right, look at that, he's intact. It didn't take long at all, and I know that I got everything oriented the way it is in the pattern, which is what I wanted to do. And when I'm ready and his background's ready, I just put him in place, and I just iron him down and he's fused together. And I know that everything is right where it should be. And it was really easy and it's a fun and wonderful way to play with an applique pressing sheet, make your fusible web really easy.