Iron-on Butterfly Appliques; A Way to Embellish an Art Quilt

Commercial Applique of a Monarch Butterfly

Commercial Applique of a Monarch Butterfly

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

In my last posting, I wrote about my collection of butterfly costume jewelry pins that I’ve used quite a bit for embellishing my art quilts. However, there is also a large number of appliques of the same insect that can add another dimension to your work. While usually flatter than most pins, appliques tend to also have  a lot of detail, are more easily accessible, and are usually cheaper than pins.($1.50 – $4 US). This monarch butterfly applique seems to be the most popular here in the States, showing up in many craft stores in the applique section. On this one, I was fortunate to have some black glass leaves with gold veins. They made a perfect extension for the tips of the upper wings and the bottom of the body. This use of a leaf on an insect hopefully will remind you to look at your materials in lots of ways, not just their original intended use. Amber Swarovkski crystals are added on to add sparkle and shine.

Large yellow and orange iron-on butterfly appplique

Large yellow and orange iron-on butterfly applique

From the same quilt is a different kind of butterfly applique. This one is similarly colored as the Monarch, but I’m not sure that it is one. I only added 4 hematite colored rondelles to the center of each wing as the glue on the back of these iron-on appliques make them very hard and stiff to sew through with the small size needle that is needed to secure the seed beads in the center of each flat bead. I HATE to use a thimble, having tried just about every one out there on the market, and I always feel restricted when I try to use one. However, sewing on these appliques makes for unusual marks on my middle or “pushing” finger. If I sew a lot of these iron-on appliques on, I get a pocket of skin on the tip of each finger that pulls away from the rest of the layers underneath. Eventually it becomes hardened and I have to peel it off. Now, that’s an occupational hazard that you usually don’t think about!

Iron-on yellow skipper butterfly appliques

Iron-on yellow skipper butterfly appliques

Finally, from the same quilt, are these little (1″ or 2.5 cm in width) yellow skipper butterflies. I added tiny doll clothes buttons that are readily available in many craft store to the center of each wing.I used black quilting thread to attach the buttons to emphasize the black stitching that was already on the edges of the butterflies. You can also see an enameled metal, yellow butterfly pin to the lower left of the appliques, as if the smaller ones were baby versions of the larger pin. I like to repeat color, sizes, and shapes to help tie a composition together.

I went to Google “butterfly appliques” and saw a thumbnail of an image that I liked. It turned out that it was from an article that I had written awhile back on iron-on appliques in general. I guess that’s pretty flattering when you find your own stuff by accident and like it. I did find a page that was selling butterfly iron-on appliques with sequins on them. Having learned the hard way, sequins melt if the iron is too hot, so I would definitely sew those appliques on to any surface I was using. My favorite iron cleaner, whether it’s getting off melted sequins, or glue from under appliques is Dritz Hot-Iron Cleaner. It comes in a small tube and usually on the notions wall in a wide range of craft stores and places that sell sewing irons.

While appliques come in a wide range of subjects, I am especially drawn to those of butterflies. Even though it’s a pain to sew them onto fabric, I feel that they add a textural interest to my art quilts that I can’t achieve any other way besides beading a whole butterfly. That is incredibly time consuming, so I think that I’ll stick mostly to my appliques and pins.

What motif do you find yourself using over and over in your artistic compositions? Why did you choose that symbol?

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