This Alice quilt was such a lot of fun to design and sew. My grand daughter loves Alice in Wonderland so it was an obvious quilt to make for her. This is the first version. I hope to complete the second version later.

I don't know about you but there are just some quilts that are too hard to part with and this was one of them. So what else is one to do but create a second one.

I decided to make this one out of regular quilting fabric and choose thread to match the appliqués as I sewed them on.

My second version uses batiks for the appliques and also I decided to applique using invisible thread. The other difference between the two quilts is the layout.

The background that each image was being placed on was done in a wonky patch design. I used white on black fabrics and also black on white fabrics. This design I had seen used by Gill in my quilting group. She had made a fairy quilt for her granddaughter - see photo below. It looks stunning! I must confess the background squares were a lot more work than I expected.

Click on the cushion to go to the tutorial showing how to make this appliqué rose.

You will need:

fabrics, rotary cutter, ruler & mat

Cut fabrics into strips that are wider at one end and arrange on a flat surface. There is no need to be super accurate as irregular strips like mine add to the charm of the design.

Using a neutral backing fabric eg calico, place your first strip right side up on the left hand side.

Take your 2nd fabric strip and place it right side down on top of the first strip matching the edge as shown.

Stitch in place using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Open fabric and press.

Repeat the above process adding one fabric strip at a time, remembering to press each one as you go, until finished.

Create/find your pattern. I mostly use Google. Then decide where each fabric goes. You can see I have numbered mine. If you need to reverse your pattern then now is the time to do this.

Trace your pattern onto an adhesive webbing of your choice. I like to try to put all the pieces that will be using the same fabric together. 

Match up pattern pieces and fabrics. Peel off backing paper and place pattern piece on the wrong side of the fabric, then iron in place. Using sharp scissors cut out each piece.

I like to do a double check here by placing each piece on the original pattern just to check that I haven’t missed any. Here you will notice that I didn’t reverse my pattern because it was not necessary for this project. If it is to yours then this is best done at the very beginning.

Now it’s time to assemble your appliqué. To do this it is best to use an appliqué pressing sheet. Place your pressing sheet on top of your pattern (if you haven’t reversed your pattern then you will need to trace the pattern on the back). I did this by holding the pattern up on a window and penciled over the pattern lines. Unfortunately that doesn’t make a very clear photo so I took my photo from the other side so you could get a better view.

Now peel off the other piece of paper on your fabric pieces and place each piece in the correct place. This takes some practice as it’s not always easy to decide which piece should be under another.

Now it’s time to layer all the remaining pieces one at a time.

When you are happy with your placement then press the design together while it is still on the pressing sheet. Magic! let it cool then carefully peel it off the pressing sheet and place it on your prepared backing fabric.

Iron in place.

I like to use a machine blanket stitch when I sew my appliqués on. Where to begin - now that’s a big question.

You stitch each piece individually. I typically start by choosing a piece that sits behind others so that when I have finished sewing the appliqué design still holds its integrity but this is not always easy to do and I don’t always get it right. This rose is not an easy one to do and as it is my third time doing it over the years I find I get carried away sewing forgetting to take a step back and check if I’m stitching it in the correct order.