Raindrop Applique

I started to get interested in applique when I found the Alabama Stitch book in the library.  I think applique is a great way to cover up food stains, small tears and even ironing boo boos! This is my first reverse applique tutorial and it was featured on my Channel News Asia interview.  What's so funny is it's been raining buckets for the past few days (and even flooded) so I suppose you could say this tutorial is in homage to the skies!

You will need:

a) an old t-shirt of any colour

b) scrap t-shirt material (either from another old t-shirt or your scrap!)

c) scissors, embroidery thread, needle, washable fabric pen or you could use a Sharpie for dramatic effect

d) stencil with your favourite pattern - the simpler the better - I chose rain drops.

This is my old t-shirt - nice orange but not feeling lonely!

I had recently bought a water filter from Green Pal and the cardboard box had these water droplets carved into it - it was perfect! I cut them out to use as stencils on my t-shirt. Make sure you have a steady hand.

Next, I took some t-shirt scrap and pinned it behind the stenciled portion of my t-shirt. I read in Alabama Chanin that you can use temporary fabric adhesive spray too.  

Once you've got this done, take a double strand of embroidery thread and use a running stitch along the marked pattern to sew both layers of fabric together.

Don't pull too tight - you can see what happened in the picture above, the fabric will pucker!  Once you've got all your sewing done, pinch the top fabric and make a tiny snip. Then cut about 2mm away from the sewn edge. I cut some in half for variety.

Done. Hope it stops raining soon!