Hullo, everyone! Caitlin of Real Swanky here, with a quick & simple tutorial on how to use Heat n' Bond for your applique projects.
You will need:
Heat n' Bond -- Ultra Light or Feather Light can later be sewn over with your sewing machine. Ultra-Hold will gum up your sewing machine needle, so is only recommended if you don't plan to sew over afterward.
Fabric to iron your applique on (a shirt, skirt, etc)
Fabric for your applique
Iron
Scissors
Sewing machine, optional
To begin, flip your fabric so the wrong side is facing up. Cut your Heat n' Bond smaller than your fabric, as you will be ironing the entire piece of Heat n' Bond on top of your fabric.
Leave the waxy, peel-off paper on your Heat n' Bond. Iron the bumpy side of Heat n' Bond onto the wrong side of your fabric. Don't move the iron about too much whilst ironing!
Next, trace a pattern onto the Heat n' Bond and cut out. Note: if you're appliqueing a letter or image that needs to face a certain direction, trace it backwards on the smooth, waxy side of your Heat n' Bond. A heart, letter T, etc will be fine to trace "as is"!
Cut out your design.
Carefully peel the waxy side of the Heat n' Bond off, and discard. Now, the wrong side of your fabric will be shiny, which is the adhesive that has transferred onto it.
Place the shiny (wrong) side of your fabric onto the right side of your selected fabric.
Now pieces of the fabric will be "right" side up!
Iron, being mindful not to move the iron too much, or the adhesive will budge on you!
Done!
At this point you may leave your applique as is (preferred, if using Ultra Hold) or if using the Lite, you may hand stitch around the perimeter, or use your sewing machine's zig-zag option.
Heat n' Bond is sold in packages or by the meter. My favourite place to buy Heat n' Bond is Mitchell's Fabrics on 637 Main Street, Winnipeg. It runs for $3.50-$4.50/m right now. When sold by the meter, it will normally come with instructions on the smooth side. While sold in packages, instructions are normally on the back of the package. Be sure to roll your Heat n' Bond, and not crumple or fold it!
