Wool Felt Appliqué and Creative Stitching: Fun with Handwork

✓ Sign Up for our FREE Newsletters! Get an insider look at all things quilting, plus a bonus gift of jelly roll quilt patterns FREE!

Sara Gallegos is a self-confessed sewing machine fanatic, always on the lookout for a way to accomplish a technique using a machine! So it’s definitely a surprise that she’s really been loving hand-stitching — including wool felt appliqué and creative stitching — these days. “You’ve probably heard me say in the past that I am not a hand-stitcher. Well, I recently got bit by the bug — stung by the bee!”

Sara brings handwork wherever she goes these days!

How It All Began

This past spring, she traveled to Paducah, Kentucky, for the annual quilt show. “I just could not stay away from all of the adorable patterns I was seeing for wool handwork!” Sara says. “Wool work always felt muted to me, so previously it just didn’t spark my interest, but. I do love all things bold and bright, especially when there is something playful about it and a need for more fun threads.”

On the 4300 series of Love of Quilting, Sara teaches creative, dimensional stitching on wool felt.

Her patchwork pillow, Cozy Hive and Home, was recently featured on episode 4307 — Wool Appliqué on a Scalloped Pillow, and features wool felt backed with fusible, and embellished with dimensional handwork.

This scalloped bench pillow buzzes with coziness.

About the Episode

On this design, you could certainly create some fusible appliqué bees or find a cute buzzy button, but the hand-embroidery on wool felt is a lovely touch. Sara backed the wool felt with fusible web, and then fused it to a background piece of wool. You could fuse it directly to the pillow, but Sara recommends the background piece is you’re not confident in your hand-stitching skills yet.

Once stitched, Sara fuses the bees to the patchwork.

With a thread that matches the bee body, she whipstitches along the to secure it to the background piece. “To create the stripes across the abdomen, I used a perle cotton in black for a chain stitch. The same chain stitch was used for the antennae, with a French knot at the end for texture,” she says.

A simple chain stitch makes the bee’s stripes.

“The most fun part,” she says, “was the wings!” Inspired by Sue Spargo’s book Creative Stitching.

Sara created the bumble bee wings with the bullion loop technique.

How to Stitch Bumble Bees

Here are the steps as Sara describes them. (Although you can also watch the episode through Quilting Daily TV!

1

Start by inserting the needle into the fabric from the top side down, then bringing the needle back to the top at the place you would like your first wing positioned.

2

With the base of the needle still in the fabric, wrap the working thread around the needle 10-20 times, leaving it just loose enough to pull the needle through the loops.

3

Pull the needle through—keeping everything fairly snug—so that all of the working thread comes through the loops. It should create something that looks like a chain.

4

Drop the needle back down through the fabric, just a thread away from where you started, and pull to secure the loop.

“I strongly encourage you to make a practice bee first so that you can get a feel for your chain stitch length, and how many thread loops you prefer for the larger and small wings,” says Sara.

Working on-set of Love of Quilting, peeling of the fusible Steam-a-Seam.

When working with loops, a longer needle can be helpful Sara’s preferred needle for the bullion wings is a Gold Eye #3 Milliner’s Needle. She also encourages you to try different threads. “The heavier the thread you work with, the thicker your wing will be. Eleganza #8 Perle Cotton has become my go-to thread, but don’t get hung up on it! There are so many threads that can be used for these techniques — just practice!”

Just the right amount of embellished buzz!

Learn More From the Love of Quilting Crew

“Today, a sweet little wool kit is never far out of reach,” says Sara. The ones from Sue Spargo and Wendy Sheppard are some of her favorites. “I love that these kits are portable, stress-relieving projects.” If you’re interested in learning these hand work techniques, like the 3-dimensional bullion loops stitch, make sure you tune into episode 4307 on your local PBS affiliate, or check out the episode in your streaming Quilting Daily TV subscription. And be sure to share your creations with us on Instagram, Facebook, or in the comments section below!

*This article contains affiliate links that help us earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We’re grateful for your support!