Rosie the "Ripper"

Try misting it with water and then laying it right side down on a terry cloth towel and steaming it lightly several times. This has worked for me. A stabilizer will definitely help.

Nana2Sew

I use a light weight fusible and a tear away stablizer (coffee filters work). When I use the satin stitch (small zig zag) I lengthen the stitch and stitch around twice. I think this gives a smoother finish. As mentioned, I test out my stitches and thread first, and write the settings used on this sample.

lenette

I always sew a straight stitch around the applique. Besides lengthening your stitch, you might let up on the pressure foot. It might be pushing down too hard for this fabric, making it too dense and stretching it.

thimblebug6000

As others have said, I use regular paper or newsprint (no ink) on the underside of the block when satin stitching. Someone mentioned trying to iron it flat, BUT if you want to try this, I would put a thick towel on the ironing board, then place the block face down on the towel, mist it lightly & press. The only problem you might have with this is, if you didn't prewash your fabrics they might shrink a little or pucker where the stitching is so tight. If you used Rayon thread rather than cotton, don't use a hot iron.

CoolJulUtah

Hey Craftiladi! I'm in Fairview - about 2.5 hours-ish north of you! I have a son going to SUU right now!!! We're practically neighbors!!! ) What do you guys mean to loosen up my stitches? I want them all close so you can't see the background fabric. Sorry, I don't understand . . .

Prism99

It sounds to me as if your background fabric stretched as you were stitching. Since you were stitching all around the appliques, then some of the stitching was on the bias of the background fabric. More stitches piled up on the bias and less on the straight-of-grain, resulting in waves.

I have found that heavily starching the background fabric can substitute for using a stabilizer. By heavy starching, I mean *heavy* starching! I starch before cutting the background squares, using a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water. My method is to lay the folded yardage on my kitchen island, then use a large wall-painting brush to apply the solution until the fabric is saturated. Unstarched yardage stays folded to my left, and as I finish a starched section I fold it over to make sure that the other side is saturated to. Makes handling the fabric pretty easy. Once the fabric is saturated, I toss it in the dryer and then iron with steam. The resulting fabric has a stiffness similar to cardstock.

Some people are concerned about starch "dust" getting into their sewing machine works. I have a Bernina 1230 and this has not been a problem for me.

Experiment to see if you need to loosen your satin stitch too. (This means increasing stitch length slightly.) I have not found this to be necessary with the starched background. Another option for loosening the satin stitch is to go around each applique twice, first with a slightly narrower stitch and then again with a slightly wider stitch. Makes for a very full edge. I tried this, but felt it made the edge too stiff for the thread that I usually use, plus it doubled the stitching time!

CoolJulUtah

Well it sounds like I need to use stabilizer and/or starch in the future! Thanks for all of your help! I knew you guys would be there for me!

LivelyLady

Even when I doing satin or the blanket stitch on fusible applique, I always use a stabilizer......usually coffee filters.

TanyaL

I read this instruction in a book about machine satin stitch applique and it has worked for me. Apply Wonder Under to the back of your applique. Leave the paper on while you do your satin stitching. After the stitching is finished, when you are in the sandwiching part of your quilt, then pull the paper off and let the light adhesive from the Wonder Under help with your basting. The Wonder Under keeps the fabric from stretching, and the paper makes the quiding of the fabric around the curves, etc. go marvelously easy. I haven't had one bit of a problem since I started using this instruction and I have been doing some very intricate curvy details.

patchsamkim

When I do blanket stitch applique, just the fusible is enough stabilizer, but when doing satin stitch, I always use additional stabilizer. Because of the stitches being so close together, it draws in the fabric. You may be able to steam your block flat, depending on just how wavy it is.