I am a novice quilter, doing mostly plain square, tied quilts. However I have an eclectic bag of techniques that I have acquired through far too many years of dabbling in historical re-enactment. One of these techniques is also found in the quilting world...applique.
Applique literally means "to put on" and is a needlework technique where one piece of fabric is fastened to a larger piece, or ground. To prevent fraying, the edges of the fabric being applied can be folded under or sandwiched between the ground and a cord or ribbon sewn along the edge. If you are using fabric that doesn't fray easily you can just throw it down and stitch it on.
There are several ways to secure the applique before/while you stitch, including my old favorite, Wonder Under. (Which actually has a medieval equivalent in that pieces were lightly glued on to the base fabric before being stitched.) But please be aware that Wonder Under now makes a heavy duty version of their product that CANNOT be stitched either by hand or machine without completely gunking up your needles. Use the lightweight stuff...trust me! Pieces can also be pinned or basted before stitching.
As for the actual stitching, the two hand stitches I've encountered the most are the blind stitch and the blanket stitch. With machine stitching I prefer a solid, satin-type zig-zag but I have also seen decorative stitches used as well.
The first picture is a heraldic banner and I used a tight machine zig-zag to applique the lions, trefoils and the border.
Detail of the lion:
This next picture is of a heraldic aventail (a decorative bit that hangs off the back of a fighter's helm) and was appliqued by hand using a thin cord (black) and embellished with regular embroidery (talons and tongue).
This is an arming coat and helm gorget I made for my daughter when she participated in Youth Combat. The design is taken from 12th c. Rus illumination and is machine appliqued. Then the entire coat was machine quilted in concentric lines following the applique pattern. Arming coats and gambesons (worn under your armor) were almost always quilted to provide the proper padding and protection.
This next one is the Obama Quilt I made during the 2008 election to raise money to donate to the campaign. The stripes and sun were not pieced together, but rather appliqued and the extra fabric cut from the back.
You may remember this motif from last week's UFO diary...it's an inherited project of appliqued blocks.
And then this is a quilt that my grandmother gave to my daughter when she was born. She bought it at a church auction and we used it as a wall hanging in the nursery. I absolutely love the nursery rhyme theme of this quilt and, as you can see in the detail pictures, it is expertly stitched.
Detail:
Another Detail:
I do hope that you will share pictures of any appliqued quilts you have made so we can pass around the inspiration!