Getting distracted...

Finished Sweater

Before

So I am pretty close to finishing a pretty green dress but tonight I hit a wall. I became extremely frustrated. Sometimes the best thing to do when you can’t seem to fix a problem is to walk away from it for a while. So I decided to do a quick project with a sweater I recently bought.

This sweater was purchased from a store called Roses but it originally is from Target. It was crazy discounted so I just couldn’t pass it up. Now, it is a size XS so there’s no way it would fit me but I knew it would be perfect for my Etsy store.
I put on a beautiful heart applique in a deep purple. I didn’t take pictures of all of the steps but above are most of the important steps.
In case you are wondering how I did it here are the steps:


1. Cut out a shape. I chose a very simple one but you can go as complicated as you want. Just keep in mind you’re going to have to sew around the edges of it later.

2. Trace the shape onto iron on double-sided interfacing. Make sure that when you lay the shape on top of it you can’t see any white around the edges. You don’t want to iron it onto anything else.


3. Iron on the shape. Use another piece of fabric between the shape and the iron to ensure that you don’t discolor the applique. Let it cool completely! Peel the paper off without peeling off the interfacing. This will make more sense when you see the actual product.


4. Usually when you buy interfacing it comes with instructions. I would follow these but just in case yours didn’t here’s what I did. Place shape on the sweater where you want it. Before you iron make sure you put fabric or newspaper or something inside the sweater. Because this sweater is so thin I was afraid it would go through and be ironed onto both layers. Then use the same fabric as before between the shape and the iron. (Also make sure that the iron is dry and not on a steam setting)


5. After the applique has cooled use a zigzag stitch to finish off the applique and keep it from fraying too much. If you are using a knit like a sweater or t-shirt make sure you don’t pull on the fabric as it’s going through the machine. You will end up with a stretched out or bunched up garment. I never turn my seams under on the applique because, well honestly I’m lazy. Also I don’t mind if it frays just a bit.

*optional things: you can cut out the middle of the interfacing to make just an outline of shape. This keeps it from being less stiff. My interfacing was pretty light so I didn’t bother.

These steps pretty much apply to all applique. So go forth and decorate your clothes! Have fun!