Sew: Take A T-Shirt And…. {Version One – Woven Fabric Appliqué Tutorial}

One of the things I love about sewing my own garments is that no one else has exactly what I have! But you don’t need to sew a garment from scratch to create a unique garment. I’m going show you some great ways to embellish tshirts and make them your own. I posted a pic of this during Me Made May and had so many lovely compliments! If you fancy making your own version, read on! I own very few plain tees and most of ones I have are self stitched. The tee I used was a Big W cheapy but feel free to use a anything you have or pick one up from the thrift store.

Appliqué is really easy when you have the right stuff! You’ll need Heat ‘n’ Bond or a similar paper backed, iron-on, double-sided adhesive for bonding fabric. I would also suggest a tear away stabilizer but you can make do with a sheet of gift wrapping tissue paper.

Sew: Take A T-Shirt And.... {Version One - Woven Fabric Appliqué Tutorial}

The first step is to pick your appliqué image. I like to keep my shapes simple and without too many fiddly bits. If your design is directional or includes numbers or letters, be sure to reverse the image! Otherwise your final design will be backwards!Trace or draw your desired image onto the paper side of the heat and bond. Cut around the heat and bond shape, leaving a decent border.

Lay the appliqué fabric face down on an ironing surface. Place the heat n bond on top, with paper side up on the fabric. Press according to package directions.

Using the outline drawn on the heat n bond paper, cut out your design. Don’t throw out your off cuts! I like to save any scraps of fabric with the excess heat n bond for a sewing test swatch and also for small appliqué projects in the future.

Now to decide on the placement of your appliqué. You might want to try a few spots before deciding, sometimes an unexpected choice ends up being the best!

When you’ve got it sorted, peel off the backing paper, lay the appliqué in place and iron it on. I use a press cloth to avoid glue on my iron. Make sure all the edges and corners are stuck down properly. You’re nearly there!

Different stitches with give a different effect. Satin stitch is very popular but I find it can be to dense for knit fabrics. The complexity of your design may influence your stitch choice too. I like to to test a few out on a swatch, I just iron an off cut onto a scrap of similar fabric. You can use almost any stitch but the ones I tested here are;

Blanket Stitch: it takes a few tests to see where the stitches will fall and keep them even. Some fray to edges over time.
Triple Stretch: bold line but due to the back and forth nature, it’s hard to turn or pivot neatly. Edges will fray over time.
Tightish Zig Zag: decorative, easier to maneuver around curves. Minimal fray.
Straight Stitch: neat, easy to maneuver around curves. Edges will fray over time.

Pin a generous piece of stabilizer to the back of the appliqué area and head to the sewing machine! Stitch around the appliqué. Be sure you are only sewing the layers you intended. Just go slowly and carefully! Gently pull the stabilizer away from stitching and…..you’re done!