Reverse Applique Tutorial

I have a little boy. A little boy that has ONE set of custom clothes that I made over 2 years ago. My husband has not been "in tune" with him wearing boutique clothes....but a couple of days ago, I told him I'd make him something....AND....he HAS NOT STOPPED TAKING ABOUT IT EVER SINCE!! It is a nice alternative to a daughter that has a closet of custom clothing and takes it a bit more for granted.

This boy, he LOVES transformers, so I promised him an appliqued t-shirt. As I (he) was picking the colors I remembered Ashley's reverse applique tutorial here.

So here is what I did: Gathered supplies needed:

1. fusible interfacing

2. solid colored t shirt (handmade OR store bought) ;)

3. sharp...did I say sharp scissors

4. sewing machine and thread

5. seam ripper (just in case)

Ok so my first step was deciding on the right colors. Then I decided how large I wanted to make the applique. With that in mind, I cut a piece of the interfacing a tad bit larger than my design and ironed it onto the wrong side of my fabic. I then found the Transformer autobot (VERY important to differentiate that) logo :) I started to draw it on the interfacing.

Ok the fun step....I turned the shirt inside out, I pinned the fabric with the interfacing facing me and started to sew a straight stitch around the perimeter.

MAKE VERY VERY sure that as you are tracing your lines, you do not get the bottom of the shirt caught underneath the needle, sew it together as one piece and then pull your hair out in frustration...just saying ;)

Another **Tip** is that I back stitched at the beginning and end of each line (look at the pic below and you can see where the stitching is a little darker at the edges)

Once you have finished your stitching, turn your shirt back to the right side, and it should look something like this:

As you can see, it is not perfect, but with this type of applique, that is ok, almost better. Also I only stitched around once.

Now take out you sharpest scissors (also the smaller the better when trying to get into small spaces) Clip away at the areas that YOU want to see the under lying fabric come through on the design.

clip clip clip away....until you are happy with your design! (also keep in mind that once you wash it, the knit fabric will curl a little)

Here's mine: