Create Fusible Art with Video Tutorials!
Posted by Sue Bleiweiss on Sep 14th 2018
Sue Bleiweiss, the author of upcoming book Modern Art Quilts, is an expert at using fusible appliqué to create stunning and stylish art quilts like the one above. Luckily for us, she's put together a series of videos demonstrating the techniques that she talks about in the book.
So I don’t think it’s a secret that I am a big fan of Mistyfuse and that all the quilts that I create use it. I don’t piece anything! All of my quilts are constructed using fusing and the only fusible I use in my studio is Mistyfuse. Why this particular brand you ask? Well, there are three big reasons:
It’s lightweight: It adds no bulk or stiffness to my quilts and that’s really important to me because I build my quilts in layers. So I can end up stitching through six or more layers of fused fabrics.
It’s strong: Once I apply enough heat to fully fuse the pieces together, they stay put.
No solvents: Mistyfuse doesn’t have those chemicals and solvents in it that other brands do, and that means that I never have to deal with that nasty little bead of glue that forms on the needle that you get with other brands.
Now I know that for some of you buying a fusible that doesn’t come with paper on it seems a little daunting so I’ve got a video for you that shows you how to work with it:
Easy right? Here’s a couple of tips:
Always fuse before you cut! This ensures that the Mistyfuse will go all the way to the edge of the shape that you’re cutting, and you’ll get a better, more secure bond when you fuse it in place on your project.
Keep fabric softener sheets in the studio. If you get some fusible on the sole plate of your iron (and trust me, you will), immediately run the hot iron over an unused, unscented fabric dryer sheet (place the sheet on a piece of scrap cloth to protect your ironing surface), and the fusible will come right off.
Now let me show you how I use it in place of pins when I do my bindings…
I do the bindings for all of my quilts this way—yes, even those that I submit to juried shows and those that have won ribbons. They’re all done using this four-strip fused binding method. Why pin when you can fuse?!
Here’s some other ways to use Mistyfuse in place of pins:
Basting: Use your scraps of Mistyfuse about a fist-width apart to baste your quilt layers together. Jenny Lyon has a great blog post here on this technique.
Labels: Fuse your label in place with a scrap piece of Mistyfuse and then hand stitch to secure.
Those are just a few ways to use this wonderful product. I’ll be sharing more in upcoming blog posts, which you can read on my blog. Until then… go forth and fuse!
