Continuous Line Machine Appliqué - How does this work?

I came up with the idea for continuous line machine appliqué while I was playing with my original machine quilting designs.  I created the designs using  Electric Quilt software and, on a whim, I colored the designs to came up with what I thought were interesting appliqué designs. My first CLA designs used full size freezer paper patterns but I later found it just as easy to trace the design onto fusible web. One of the cool things about this method is that you can cut once to make 2 blocks or rows.  Click here to see all my continuous line machine appliqué designs.

Below are brief directions for the construction of a block for one of my Continuous Line Machine Appliqué quilts. The example shows a Tide Pool block. Detailed instructions are available with each quilt pattern.

• Trace the 'block' design on to the back of fusible web .
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Cut along the traced line.  I call this Continuous Line Appliqué because you start cutting on one side of the design - cut, cut, cut - and eventually you come out the other side.
• Separate the two pieces.  If you did cut in one continuous line then you will end up with 2 pieces - one a 'positive' of the design and the other a reverse or 'negative'.
  
  
  
• Fuse each onto a background piece. You have cut once to make 2 blocks.
  
  
  
   
• After blocks are assembled into the quilt top the appliqué can be secured at the same time as the quilting is done

©2007 Marjorie Rhine; Quilt Design NW

 - - - - - - - - - - -