12 Minis in 12 Months | Freezer Paper & Starch Appliqué

Mini Quilt Adventures with Starch Appliqué.

It’s too easy to find ourselves pulled in every direction as we choose which creative projects to undertake. As makers we are inspired by so much and we want to MAKE IT ALL!! Mini quilts can be the bridge to creative harmony between the patterns we aspire to make and the ones we have the time and energy for.

Mini quilts are also a great way to make brave choices, try new techniques, or push the envelope of your creativity – without the marathon commitment necessary for a full size quilt.

This particular mini quilt was a great introduction for me into the world of freezer paper and starch appliqué.

Daisies Mini Quilt

This pattern is by Fig Tree & Co. I began piecing the top in November of 2016 as an exercise to improve my craftsmanship. Admittedly, I am not really a big appliqué fan (in the doing department), but I do think the technique brings a whole new dimension to a quilt pattern, which I believe makes it a skill worth acquiring.

How to Appliqué using Freezer Paper and Starch

If you aren’t familiar with the starch appliqué technique, there are a number of tutorials and videos online to help you get started.

This video tutorial by Joanna Figueroa and Kimberly from the Fat Quarter Shop is a great visual primer:

I also love the clear step by step tutorial by Amber of Gigi’s Thimble.

And the tutorial from Cindy of Hyacinth Quilt Designs where you can see what the hand stitches should look like once you begin the actual appliqué.

Another great source of information is the blog post by Allison of Campbell Soup Diary titled ‘10 Best Starch Appliqué Tips‘. Allison’s tips are particularly helpful when it comes to setting yourself up for success. If I had read them earlier, I could have saved my ironing board cover!

The Perfect Plan

After I successfully appliqued my petals and completed the mini quilt top, I set it aside to focus on other things. Originally I intended to also use the top to practice some free motion quilting, but instead it sat neatly folded in a pile of other bits and pieces I had ‘plans’ for – surely I am in good company with such a pile; you have one too, right?

This past month I decided it was time to revisit my plan, and so I basted my quilt top. And then the quilt took up residence in a new pile where it patiently waited for me to feel ‘inspired’ to know how to quilt it. And it waited, and waited…

Knowing that the month was drawing to a close and my goal was to finish the quilt I sat down at my sewing machine and outlined the basic shapes. I thought long and hard about the many ways I could quilt it, but I never set aside the time to actually do it.

Sometimes you can analyse a project for too long, and the only sensible thing to do is to call it D.O.N.E.

Don’t be afraid to take a chance, try something new, or to call a project ‘done’ and move on.

The worst that can happen is that your creative vision isn’t realised…this time!

That’s okay, there is always next time…

And I’m still smitten with my new mini quilt despite my preconceived quilting ideas ;).

My Applique Tool Box

For those who are venturing into the realm of applique – these are the notions I found most useful:

#12minisin12months

12 Minis in 12 Months is a year long quiltalong hosted by Kait @knotandthread . Check out Kait’s blog for all the latest information, and join in the fun any time.