Applique , tricks and Tips.

I never use the built in applique on the outlines. Just copy and paste then change the last one to a nice wide satin stitch. Something I'm learning right now on appliques is to add more to the cover satin stitch. I had been doing them around 2mm but now am up to about 3.2 and will most likely move on up to 3.5mm width. The reason being that when doing a design on a t-shirt it moves too much and ends up not stitching enough of the fabric and once it's washed it comes loose which is death to the design. I really hate doing appliques but everyone seem to want them. I also use a denser stitch count on the satin stitch too.

When doing applique i always do it manually. I never use the built in. I do not use a running stitch as a tack down, it causes the material to walk. I prefer a very low density satin stitch at nearly the same width as the cover stitch.

Also I try not to use to dense of a cover stitch because it can cause the twill to shred.

Great advice,,,,I'm still trying to learn applique.

I have found most material will work for applique, and I would suggest using a spray tack to adhere the piece to your product before sewing. I know the major suppliers of thread all have a version of spray adhesive made specifically for applique use... that hopefully will not gunk up your machine.
Sometimes for very large pcs of applique I will program in a few basting stitches throughout the area to hold the fabric in place. Long manual stitches that you can easily cut out after the sewing is off the machine. this really helps prevent fabric movement... which can occur even if you have sprayed the material down if you are sewing the tack down stitching all in one direction.. it definitely will move in that direction. So at the very least sew a little of the zig zag here then go to another part of the pc and sew more zig zag... works well on large pcs

I'm VERY interested in this Stahl's precut way. Unfortunately what I've got sold right now is the school tartan fabric on the applique so the only way to get it is to send it out to get it cut and get it back I guess. I could increase my productivity by 2fold doing it this way.

I am interested in taking a class or 2 on applique? Michigan. Anyone know of class in my area?

Applique is really quite easy IF you prepare things correctly up front. Yes, your material must be adheared to the garment with spray-tak, a pressure sensitive backing, etc. A nice, low density tack-down stitch will tack the material nicely and not move around. Your satin finishing stitch should also not be too dense. .38 is plenty. Also, the width of that stich can be anything you want. If you are forced to make that stitch wider in order to cover properly something is not right. The actual sewing part of applique is the easy part. It's the prep work up front that's important.

I can help you out with any problems or questions you might have. So please let me know.

The GX24 is a great cutter! you can import the stich file directly to the cutter from Wilcom and have everything pre-cut before hand. No hand cutting on the machine at all.