Merry Making with Mistyfuse

When I designed this quilt I knew I would use Mistyfuse for my applique. Why? Because with Mistyfuse I can make my letter templates the right way up and not have to think backwards at any step in the process. I can draw my template the way I want it to look on my quilt and start the fusing process. I don't have to think about reversing anything - no second guessing letter direction or if my holly leaf {in this example} is pointed in the right direction on my fabric.

I did a quick review of using this paperless fusible the first time I used it back here. 

This time I thought I might make a few quick pointers that would help you in this frenzied making season.

Are you frenzied? Are you making?

HERE'S HOW I APPLIQUE WITH MISTYFUSE

Trace your template onto parchment paper. For this quilt I simply traced the same 'l' and 'a' as many times as I needed it. {Next time I might try and see if I can use my template more than once}

Put your template RIGHT SIDE UP on your ironing surface.

Cut your Mistyfuse to size. It's a good idea to do this in good lighting. The Mistyfuse has no paper on it so it becomes almost invisible and tricky to see in dappled light. 

Try to cut the Mistyfuse so that it doesn't go over the edge of your template parchment.

If it does - don't worry - simply place a larger piece of parchment paper under your template parchment and then start layering.

Once your Mistyfuse is cut and in place, put your fabric RIGHT SIDE UP on top of the pile.

Finish with another piece of parchment paper that extends past the edges of the fabric being fused.

In some cases I reverse the pile like in the photo above:

Large piece of parchment paper

Fabric RIGHT SIDE DOWN

Mistyfuse

Template RIGHT SIDE DOWN

This way I can keep a visual on the Mistyfuse bits and make sure they were covering the template. 

I know it LOOKS upside down, but I didn't have to think that way! This is mostly to make sure that when I fuse I don't end up with Mistyfuse where I don't want it - on my iron and ironing board.

HEAT is the KEY
I put my iron on the SILK setting when doing the first fuse of the Mistyfuse to the fabric. You don't want it too hot, but you do want it hot enough to fuse. Five seconds is all it takes most times.

At this point magic happens!

You can peel back your template, slowly, and you should see your template pencil lines on the back of the fabric. If it is faint in some places, gently put the pieces back together and use your iron for a few more seconds.  You can keep checking until two things look right - most of your pencil lines have transferred to the fabric 

and you no longer see sticky residue

You may hear a peeling sound kind of like velcro, but softer, when you take your layers apart. 

That's a happily fused fabric sound! I like that sound:)

You will also still probably have pencil lines on your parchment paper; this is why I think you might be able to reuse these parchment paper templates. I just haven't yet.

Now you can cut out your fabric on the transferred template lines.

Put a fresh piece of parchment paper between your iron and the fabrics you are fusing together. You want a fresh piece in case some Mistyfuse got stuck on the parchment paper - you won't see it until it's a shiny mistake on your project! Don't be stingy here - with practice you will know how close to trim your Mistyfuse for your templates and how much parchment paper is 'enough'.

Use the COTTON heat setting on your iron to fuse the fabric to your applique background. This may take up to 10 seconds.

Now your are ready to stitch around your appliqued fabric .

I like Mistyfuse because I find the appliqued fabric has very little extra weight to it and this makes it move through my sewing machine with ease. It's easy to handstitch through too.

Most recently, I used Mistyfuse to place my final pieces on this little quilt that I've been doing hand blanket stitch on. I decided I wasn't going to work around any more pins on this project and fused the cat and the basket down using Mistyfuse. 

In this case my shapes were already cut out. I simply cut pieces of Mistyfuse to fit under the cat - really tiny pieces for under the legs - placed parchment paper on top and my iron on the COTTON setting. 

My pieces are not 100% fused, but they are fused enough that they won't move and so that I can stitch around the edges by hand with no pins in the pieces.

I just might get this one done before the end of this year's football season.

Underneath the ironing board you can see another project {shh, it's a Christmas gift!} where using Mistyfuse helped me a lot because it kept my fused fabric thin. 

Have I convinced you to try fusing with Mistyfuse yet? 

Leave me any questions you might have and I'll answer them in the comments - or try to!

With Joy,

Sarah Vee