The Holidays are busy…there’s no doubt about that! But I love it. It’s a wonderful busy…filled to the brim with fabric and pins, wood and sandpaper, projects and secrets, family and friends. Yes, it is a very happy busy indeed. My parents remember with joy this time of year when my siblings and I were still young, when dinner was never served at the dining room table, when hand written “Stay Out” signs were taped to boxes and doors throughout the house, when certain siblings were forbidden to enter the sewing room or workshop, when secret bits of handmade love were positively bursting out of the nooks and crannies of the house.
Not much has changed! There are secrets and surprises tucked in each nook and cranny of my own family’s holiday days. Mysterious packages arrive and are whisked away to unknown places. Little ones are taken away for some one-on-one creating time for others. It is indeed a busy busy joyful time of year.
I have wanted to share with you many of the projects that I am working on right now but know that many of my siblings join me in this space regularly…and no “Stay Out” sign works on a blog!!! Glimpses perhaps! Yes…we’ll share glimpses.
The Reverse Appliqué Table Topper however is gift to my Oma. She is wonderfully German, lived through WWII, immigrated to the United States with my father when he was a boy, attained US citizen ship, survived and conquered innumerable trials and obstacles and firmly acquired the title of a “woman-who-can-do-anything”…..yet does not have (or ever use) a computer!! So I’m safe to share more than a glimpse!!
Many fabric choices will produce beautiful results for this project. I chose to dip into a delicious pile of wool scraps that is tucked away on my fabric shelves. I felted the wool lightly before working with it by washing and drying it in the machine once.
How to Make a Reverse Appliqué Table Topper
Step 1. Determine the size of your table topper. Cut four layers of wool in coordinating colors a bit larger than your desired size. Decide the layering order of your pieces.
Step 2. Draw a design on a piece of paper the same size as your wool pieces.
Step 3. Cut out the design pattern and pin to the piece of wool the you would like to be on top.
Step 4. Cut around the pattern pieces. My design was a bit narrower than I was comfortable with so I adjusted it by cutting ~1/4” outside my pattern.
Step 5. Pin the top layer to the second layer.
Step 6. Cut the design from the second layer just inside the first layer so the second is showing slightly.
Step 7. Pin the first two layers on top of the remaining two layers. Stitch around the design with a running stitch.
Step 8. Trim the edges of the table topper. Stitch around the border with a simple running stitch.
Step 9. Arrange on the table and enjoy!!!
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