In my last Secret Garden post on the 1st, I showed you what the Secret Garden Part 7 block looked like (above). Today, I'm going to show you how I make the leaves using a turn edge method. Now, I prefer turn edge, so this is the method I'm showing. But you need to know that using a raw edge is also perfectly fine. In fact, I had planned to raw edge this entire quilt but found myself turn edging without really thinking about it. This happens when you prep as much as I do. I have so many quilts on the go that I sometimes lose track of myself. And when I realized I had gone ahead and turn edged so much..I decided to stick with it.
Here's my fusible leaf shape with a fabric seam allowance, cut out and ready to turn
My preferred glue is always Elmer's disappearing purple but when I work on these small pieces, I use a glue stick I purchased at a local quilt store because it's smaller and drier to work with. This particular stick has no branding, but it is very dry and tacky - this makes it perfect for working on such a small piece. I could have also used the Elmer's, but it's wetter and when I turn the fabric edges they can roll back out. I usually keep a 6 gram tube of Elmer's next to my applique tools with the lid off to have a 'tacky' and slightly dry stick on hand for the same reason.
So here's my piece with the glue smeared across it
Using a wooden orange / manicure stick, I turn the first edge down one side of my shape
As I work the turn, I 'pleat' any excess fabric by bunching it close together as evenly as possible as I turn the shape
When I reach the tip point of my shape, I dab some glue
and before turning the other side, I flip the tip point up now
like so
Now I add some more glue to the side and hold the shape between my thumb and finger
And sharply turn the other side so that the side turns over the tip point
which leaves a little spot a bit higher up which I;ll need to pleat as I glue it down into position
and this is what the finished piece looks like
and this is the front
and this is what it looks like when it all comes together
There is no cheat way around this process; if you're going to turn edge, your points have to be secure and neatly tucked away.
Turn edge applique is all about the prep: I have so many projects on the go that I keep my prepped pieces in envelopes, then bundled together. Often, I will spend days cutting out pieces to ready them for this turning step. I can turn pieces like this on a lap table in front of the TV or radio in the evenings and I usually have a few quilts worth of pieces on my WIP shelves to do during winter. In fact, I often discover prepped pieces for quilts I'd even forgotten I'd started years ago!
and now I have some buds to turn..
