Author Mandy Murray has a very unique style and that is reflected in her irreverent, humorous approach to designing, so whether it’s a dachshund in a doughnut or a flamingo who likes to mingle, her designs can’t fail to make you smile. This collection includes 12 projects for homewares and wearables. Choose from a fun floor cushion to an apron, table mats, wall hanging and even a dinosaur inspired appliqué design for a denim jacket.
Mandy uses fusible appliqué to bring her designs to life and she explains this technique with step-by-step instructions and illustrations at the beginning of the book along with specific advice about getting the most from your sewing machine and using unusual fabrics.
Other appliqué and piecing techniques covered include fussy cutting, layered appliqué, fabric selection and fabric 'auditioning' so you choose the best fabric for your project; how to get the right tension on your sewing machine and which feet to use, as well how to choose the right threads and needles for the best results.
Discover hand embroidery and decorative stitches, quilting and finishing techniques and how to add embellishments. Mandy also shares her techniques for different stitch styles, and shows you how to get exciting effects with even the most basic sewing machine. Learn how to create her distinctive appliqué style using decorative stitches in the stitch library.
The full-size appliqué patterns are included on a pull-out pattern sheet so you don’t need to print them out and stick pages together, and all the appliqué templates are included at full-size so you can get going straight away once you’ve decided which design to tackle first!
As well as the main techniques section there are 12 exciting projects to choose from. Mandy is known for her fun and quirky designs which includes wall art, embellishments on clothing, cushions, quilts and an apron.
The projects come together quickly and easily and make the perfect funky present for families and friends.
About Mandy Murray
Mandy Murray is the designer behind the Sew Quirky brand. She is known for her bright, bold designs for animals and birds made with fusible machine appliqué featuring decorative stitches. Visit her website www.sewquirky.com.au.
British Patchwork & Qulting
A modern selection of twelve quirky designs with associated projects. Mandy takes you through her favoured tools and materials followed by full instructions for the layered bonded applique method. An applique mar is essential for this. Each applique design is built up in layers on the mat. All designs have a full-sized placement template.
Fabric choices are discussed and auditioning fabric with the placement template to hand is recommended. Fussy cutting is advised and can add interesting touches to your projects. An excellent tip is to fussy cut stars and metallic spots for eyes to add interest and give a lovely glint. Cork and Vinyl are used for some of the projects so quilting clips, tape and glue are recommended along with a Teflon machine foot and a topstitch needle.
Pieced applique is another suggested method for adding interest; piecing smaller strips of fabric together to then use for the layered bonded applique. Various stabilisers are looked at and machine feet, tension and threads follow. Bobbin fill thread in conjunction with Rayon is recommended for the applique but any threads can be used. Decorative stitches, embellishments and quilting and finishing techniques are covered before moving on to the designs and projects.
There is a range of items including a floor cushion, bags, wall hangings, table mats and the addition of applique to clothing is also suggested. Reversed templates are provided to copy for all designs along with the placement templates on the pull-out sheet.
Overall, a fun and quirky look at applique.
