Begin with a pattern, any pattern. This works for all applique styles. Mark the horizontal and vertical center lines on the pattern.
|Finger crease background fabric in half lengthwise.|
|Line up lengthwise crease marks and crease widthwise.|
|Open creased background fabric right side up.|
Line up the center markings on the applique patterns with the crease marks on the background fabric
|Pin the background fabric to the pattern so that nothing shifts|
|Flip over the background fabric and place it on a light box|
|My favorite marking pencil is an inexpensive .5mm mechanical pencil|
Mark as accurately as possible. From this point forward this is your only guideline. Remove the pins and pattern.
|Lay the applique fabric for the leaf shape right side down (wrong side up) on a flat surface.|
Lay the background fabric right side down (wrong side up) over the applique fabric. Pin closely around the pencil lines that define the shaped to be appliqued. Notice the shapes that go under another shape. Those edges should not be turned under but instead lay as a fabric tab or flap under the applique shape that will cover it.
Next thread a fat needle with fat thread.
|Basted applique line and "under" line|
|Trim a scant 1/4 inch to a true 1/8 inch away from the basting stitches.|
|Clip every other stitch.|
Thread your favorite applique needle (I prefer a Roxanne or Jeana Kimball #12 Sharp) with your favorite applique thread (I prefer Aurifil #50 cotton). I begin by basting the "under" edges with a running stitch until I reach the first turn under edge. I then clip every other basting stitch. In the example on the left the scissors are pointing to the edge I clipped. I leave the basting stitch that defines the point in tact until I am ready to actually stitch the point.
|Sweep under seam allowance and applique edge.|
|Baste and stitch first layer|
In this example, layer one consists of the two back leaves and the crown of leaves at the top. Layer two is made up of the two larger leaves on the bottom of the pineapple. The pineapple is the third and last layer.
Here is my yummy pineapple block ready for embroidered embellishments!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.