Back-basting overcomes the disadvantages of traditional needle-turn appliqué, and it is simpler than some imagine, so Monkey and I have prepared this little summary.

Traditional Needle-turn 

Let’s review traditional needle-turn first.

Trace the outline of the patch—a heart, for example—onto the front side of a fabric patch (or print with Inklingo). Cut out the heart, leaving a narrow turn-under allowance. Pin it in position on the background and and turn the edges under with the needle, a little bit at a time, so you can make invisible stitches to attach the heart to the background.

Advantage: The  preparation is faster than template methods.
Disadvantages:  It is more difficult to accurately position because each heart is bigger than its space since the edge is not yet turned under. It can be hard to see the outline of the heart, especially on dark patches. It can be tricky to use the needle to turn the fabric edge under accurately and make invisible stitches at the same time.

Back-basting

Back-basting is a variation of the needle-turn method, and overcomes the disadvantages. It is my favorite method.

1. Instead of tracing the outline of the heart on the front of the appliqué fabric, trace the entire design (or print with Inklingo) on the back of the background fabric.

2. Postion a rough-cut patch right side up on the front.  To ensure that the fabric completely covers the outline of the heart, cut it big and hold the background up to the light, or place pins from the back as a guide.

3. Working from the back, baste the patch to the background (hence the name “back-basting”), following the outline of the heart, using a big needle and thick thread.

4. Working from the front, trim the rough-cut fabric patch, leaving a narrow turn-under allowance.

5. Working from the front, clip and remove the basting stitches one small section at a time— just enough to allow you to needle-turn and stitch the next half inch or so. Use invisible stitches.

How Back-basting Works

Basting with a big needle and thick thread along the line on the back holds everything in perfect position and marks the edge of the patch!

Holes in the background and the patch

When the thick basting thread is clipped and removed from the front, one small section at a time, the line of temporary holes is a visual guide and temporarily “perforates” the edge, so it is easier to needle-turn accurately and stitch in place.

Appliqué with Inklingo

Inklingo has advantages with all appliqué methods, whether you are printing on freezer paper for templates or printing shapes on the patch fabric or on the background.

There is a complete chapter on appliqué in The Inklingo Handbook, including illustrated instructions for back-basting layered designs, stitching direction, needles, thread, invisible stitches (tack stitch and ladder stitch), inner points, outer points, etc.

If you like needle-turn appliqué, you will LOVE back-basting, especially since it eliminates all positioning issues.

If you have found traditional needle-turn appliqué difficult, it is time for you to try back-basting. Back-basting makes it easier to position the patches and to turn under the edges accurately. You will be amazed by the difference it makes, and I think you will understand why this old technique has become popular again.

You can subscribe to receive an e-mail whenever there is a new entry at All About Inklingo from the sidebar. Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey

Dresden Plate Design Book (FREE, 74 pages)

There have already been “complaints” about the new Dresden Plate collections—too much choice, not accurately named, irresistible, causes heart to race, etc.  LOL  These Inklingo collections include so many blades, backgrounds, and variations that to call them “Dresden Plate” seems misleading. I’m sorry. The shapes were so exciting, we could not stop!

So—infinite design possibilities AND a choice of traditional appliqué, back-basting appliqué, hand piecing, machine piecing, and hybrid piecing. Quilters who don’t even like Dresden Plate, will like some of these:

As one Inklingo friend wrote, “This is not your grandmother’s Dresden Plate!

These Dresden Plate collections got so big and beautiful that it took a whole book to describe the possibilites.  The Inklingo Dresden Plate Design Book is free and it is a fantastic tool for quilters and pattern designers. 

A Worksheet from the Design Book

Today is my sister’s birthday and we are taking her out for dinner. I have to stop now to get dressed up, but in the next few days, I will share more images of the new Dresden Plate collections here. In the meantime, I hope you will visit the Dresden Plate page on my site. You can also see a photo of the first “Dresden Plate” block (that we know about) . It was made within the first few hours by Tilde.

INTRODUCTORY PRICES  Be sure to check out the special sale prices. You could save up to $15 if you order by January 24th. (Details on the web site.)

FREE  Order and download the Inklingo Dresden Plate Design Book now, and leave a comment to let me know what YOUR complaints are, okay?

Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey

It is starting to look very wintery here in Burlington. We’re thinking about Christmas, and that means gifts.

As you probably know, there are several male Inklingoists, but lately there has been a little uptick in the number of orders from Rick/Bob/John and they are clearly meant for someone other than Rick, Bob, and John. That should be pretty nice for some of you on Christmas morning. Monkey and I are very pleased when anyone chooses Inklingo as a special gift.

Did you know that there are Gift Certificates available on the site? It works well for everyone. You can set any amount for the gift and the recipient can choose anything she wants from the site and use the certificate towards the purchase.

If you know a friend is hankering for more Inklingo, you can give her a little treat, even if there is a Secret Pal limit on spending, like $5 or $10.

Free Gifts?

Even without a Gift Certificate, Monkey and I think you can give a nice present to a friend just by telling her about the free shape collection. Aren’t you glad someone told you about Inklingo? You can do the same favor for someone else, by giving her the link to the Quick Start page.

I haven’t done any decorating yet, other than this happy little snowman on my desk, because I have been hard at work on the web site, trying to make it more useful for everyone. Some of the changes are:
•  updated Index of Shapes (including 10 new collections since October 1)
•  new, expanded Info PDF for the free shape collection (at the bottom of the product page)
•  new page for a “Quick Start” (A great intro for Inklingo newbies)
•  new menu arrangement (How did you ever find anything before?)

There are more changes coming, but I am especially pleased with the new info file for the free collection because it includes instructions for sewing and pressing LeMoyne Stars. Even if you have the instructions in The Inklingo Handbook, you might want pages 4 and 5.

Side note: I wanted to replace the free shape collection with an expanded version in September (the one-year anniversary of the downloads), but a server upgrade is required. When it is ready, you will be able to open the existing collection and use it, but you will have the option of downloading the new version. As it is, if a collection is updated, you would be forced to stop to download the new version even if you had only opened Inklingo to print a few more triangles. I would be annoyed if that happened to me. That is the reason for waiting for the upgrade to the server, and for updating the Info PDF instead.

I am embarrassed by how messy the web site became. I just kept dumping new collections on it every few weeks this year, and Monkey says it is a miracle that you managed to find what you wanted! A web site is never finished but inklingo.com is in better shape now than it has been for a long time, so I hope you will have a look. (Monkey: Some of the best stuff is hidden under Support, where no one looks.) If you have any suggestions, let me know, okay?

<drum roll> Yes, Dresden Plate is next because it is the most requested, by far. I am excited about this one. It took all my self discipline to leave it alone this week while I worked on the site.

As you know, I don’t normally announce in advance, but if possible, Dresden Plate and Winding Ways will both be ready for you by January 1.

A few hints about the Dresden Plate collection: 9 inch (quarter block is 4.5 inch); several different blades and centers; Basic and Deluxe (like Orange Peel); Deluxe includes some unusual, special designs for 12 and 15 inch blocks. Monkey says that might be enough detail for you to ask Joe/Mike/Dave/Fred for an Inklingo Gift Certificate, in anticipation!

Please give me your feedback about the web site—good and bad. I hope you are enjoying the season wherever you are, and still finding time to spend with fabric. Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey