A little history on Applique Cafe… we started in August 2009, so 3+ years ago. Bless my heart, some of my old samples are just sad! The fabrics are yuck so-so, but some of the photos are worse than so-so. We now have over 575 designs, so while I can’t re-do ALL of the “bad” samples, I’m working on it here and there. I also just recently started removing the background (i.e. white stabilizer or shirt or whatever I used) from my photos. Again, I can’t do all 575+ but work on them here & there. I use Photoscape to edit my photos (rotate, crop, lighten, add watermark, etc), but also have Photoshop Elements (Adobe Photoshop Elements 10) to remove my backgrounds. I really need to learn more about Elements so I could do it all in there, but for now I toggle back and forth between the 2 programs. Photoscape is FREE, BTW.

We also sell some of our designs at SWAK Embroidery and also on Etsy. Here’s a prime example of a design that we were getting ready to list on Etsy. Our Alligator design is one of our originals (#60 out of 575) and I shrieked a little when I saw this picture! The fabrics are cute enough, but I think I must have taken this picture in a closet somewhere! So…. this morning I re-did the sample with a brighter chunky lime gingham with turquoise teeth and eye. I also got a brighter picture (outside even tho it’s dreary here) and removed the background in my photo. It looks MUCH better, eh? One design at a time…… A good photo and fabric can make ALL the difference!

 Now, on to further discussion on Heat N Bond Lite (see this POST for more info). I saw a post or two last week on Facebook regarding Heat N Bond Lite versus Steam A Seam Lite (2?). You can find it at most sewing stores like Joann, Hancocks, Hobby Lobby etc. It’s described as “double stick fusible web”. Years ago before I discovered HNBL I tried it (and Wonder Under), but found it a little stickier than I liked for my machine. I HAVE NOT tried it since, and they may have changed it and I noticed a SASL2 so that may even be the new thing (vs. just LITE). Anyway, a question was posed on Facebook asking if people were going to switch, or stick with HNBL. I am choosing to stay with HNBL. I’ve been using it for years, it’s easy to work with and my machine has no problems with it! I encourage everyone to try SASL if you feel inclined (Wonder Under too for that matter), and figure out what YOU like! Figure out what works best for you and your techniques, and your machine, and your finished product. Just because I use HNBL doesn’t mean everyone else has to. But, I do recommend it!

I thought I would post a few pics I took of a shirt I did recently for my daughter. I wanted to show what the shirt looked like straight out of the dryer. This is a Garanimals long sleeved tee from Walmart (60% cotton/40% polyester), and our Bird 3 design. As you can see it’s a little wrinkled, which is normal for a t-shirt I believe and this was probably after 3 fluff cycles since it takes me 3 days to get clothes out of the dryer to fold them.

The applique itself looks pretty good. Most of the “wrinkle” in my opinion is in the shirt. The applique fabric is still fused to the shirt with no bubbles.

I ran an iron over the shirt a time or two, and this is how it looks. There is a “wet spot” between little birdie’s legs, which is probably a stain of grease or cheese dip or something. Sissy is 4 so most of her shirts have something on them!

The applique looks crisp and wrinkle-free!

Here is a side view – no bubbles.

I use a cheap Shark iron that most likely came from Target.

The instructions on HNBL say: Preheat iron to medium heat, no steam. I do keep water in my iron but do not use the steam setting. The water comes in handy ~ squirt it on any hoop burns and iron and they go away. Also, if you stitch an applique design on a shirt and feel as though your fabric is a little bubbly, squirt a little water on it and iron well. For me, it takes the bubbles out and fuses the applique fabric to the shirt. In case anyone is wondering, I do not prewash shirts, fabric or anything. No dryer/hanging to dry is probably good practice for applique shirts, but I have 3 kids and doing laundry is a daily chore. I dry just about everything and have no issues!

Please comment with any questions!