Appiqued stuff takes LOTS & LOTS of practice!! I tried and tried and tried.

I found it was easier to learn how to use my embroidery machine than do it by hand. I had no problems cutting it out, getting it on the fabric, etc, just going around the designs.
Am I the only dork who thought when you cut out the easy fit pattern that you just cute the upper & lower pieces?? I didn't know it was a custom pattern until about 4 pair later!
thousandsofbolts.com- nope, never heard of them, but there are so many fabric places out there, if you found great prices, go for it. Order 1 item if you are worried, what would you lose? $10? For a few yards.....
Easy Fit Pants made into shorts- yup, looks totally odd when you are sewing. Heres a pic of mine on my little one- wearing about size 12/18 months then.
As you can see, i added a cuff, but you could go shorter.
I think I will order from them this weekend. I like the manufactures of the fabric, so it should be good. Great prices!
The shorts turned out so cute!!
Ok here is my disastrous applique! I am going slow I actually even set my machine for the slow mode so I am not tempted to go fast and it is still awful! UGH! Any extra tip any one can give especially around corners?
I may have to get busy learning to digitize so I can make the pictures I want! UGH!!!!!!!!
I am not sure why Kyle can't just pose nicely he has to ham it up and make faces every time!
I just realized I forgot to cut a string off. Oh well.
Can you tell I am not happy with it! The pants are of course Carla's easy Fit! I like how they came out!
I think its great for your first attempt! It just takes so much practice! If you have an embroidery machine, use it!
OMG, all that stuff would take me at least a year to make.
Love everything.
Yeah, I am another one who takes forever to sew!
Yes I used tear away non iron on though because my mom brought the wrong one and I haven't gotten the iron on kind yet.
Until you can get cut away stabilizer, try using coffee filters.
Leslie- This is really well said. Thank you.
I do hope the law is "explained" by the govt. so that boutique designers have a clearer understanding of what is going on. Leslie was one of the people that came to mind when I first posted about Boutique Felony. Jessica, Lori, Jeanne were a few other regular Disers that I was thinking of!
I haven't listed anything on ebay in a couple of years, but even I was thinking of listing on the Boutique Felony this week!
BTW - I was being sarcastic when I said applique was easy peasy!

It does take practice, the more you practice, hopefully the better you will get. And for some reason I find it easier NOT to go too slow. Not sure why but it works for me.
Definately use the iron on stabilizer - I think you'll see a difference. And don't be afraid to guide the fabric a little - turn it, help it along a little. Someone once told me not to be afraid to rip out the stitches and start over too. If you use thread that is the same color as the fabric you are using, mistakes aren't as noticable.
Even with the embroidery machine, you can rip out the stitches and start over! My DH bought me a huge magnifying glass that attaches to the table so I could see when doing applique by hand. It also helped with ripping out stitches!
You appliques are amazing and I think you are just as amazing that you can do it by hand. I spent a whole summer trying over & over to do it by hand. It was easier to learn how do use the scary machine!
Hey...just another update on my Granny...she was doing pretty good last night...full use of both arms, maybe a little weakness still in her left, but still she was using it. She is still talking in 3-4 words at a time, but she is trying and is of course smiling the entire time! The speech therapist said this morning that she was able to swallow, which is good. They said it was considered like a mini stroke, so I think, not sure, that she should recover good. Right now, it's just one day at a time.
thanks again for all the prayers....I must sleep now...LONG night!
Great news! And I will continue to keep her in my prayers.
So I finished the twirl skirt and it turned out really cute. Only problem, DD2 won't wear it, says "too scary." Little rat, she chose the fabric! She and DD9 wanted pirate skirts to wear during the day on pirate day on our cruise. They'll have more piratey costumes for the actual pirate dinner/celebratoin. DD9 put the skirt on and loves it but needs to wear leggings under it. Still cute. I'm working on the peasant shirt now and charging my camera so I can take pics.
Silly little one! That is funny! But I am sure that when you get there, she will be happy to wear it!
Sue