Appliqué with Embroidery: Crafting with Kids

Want to decorate the nursery with an original picture or textile piece? I suggest making an appliqué with embroidery together with your children. It’s a meticulous task, but the result will definitely delight you! Most importantly, even during lockdown, your kids will be busy with an interesting and useful activity: they will practice decorative stitches, work with color, and develop their imagination and fine motor skills. Today we are going to make... an elephant, and not just any elephant, but one in full "regalia," just like the ones seen at festivals in India. By the way, the elephant is a symbol of prosperity, family happiness, and good luck, so your work will become a wonderful talisman for your home and family.

* What you need for the project:*

1. Fabric scraps. 2. Embroidery thread. 3. Beads. 4. Sequins. 5. Base fabric. * How to make the appliqué entirely by hand*

First, you will need an image of an elephant (or another animal). Draw it in detail on the fabric that will serve as the base. In this case, the individual parts are the trunk, ears, headpiece, blanket, and head decorations. Trace all the elements onto tracing paper. Cut out all the fragments from the colorful fabric scraps.

Sew the elephant's body along the drawn outline using a basting stitch.

Next, gradually removing the basting, fold the edge of the appliqué under by 1-2 mm and secure it with an invisible stitch all the way around.

Attach the other details in the same way.

Starting the embroidery.

In my opinion, this is the most exciting and creative part of the work, where you can really let your imagination run wild. Draw a grid on the blanket and embroider it with long stitches. Secure the intersections of the grid with a cross stitch.

Along the sides, perform a blanket stitch and a zigzag using a backstitch.

Sew the ears and headpiece on with a whip stitch. Also, use chain stitch and stem stitch to embroider the small details.

Decorate the elephant's feet with "fans" embroidered from the center.

And since our elephant is Indian and richly "dressed," don't forget about beads, sequins, and rhinestones.

Completing an appliqué like this will take a few evenings—it’s true meditation for passionate crafters. You can decorate the appliqué with any decorative stitches, for example, by embroidering flowers using "French knots." The brighter and richer the embroidery, the more original the work will be, so don't skimp on patterns and choose threads in vibrant colors. The finished appliqué can be used not only for a picture but also for a sofa cushion cover or even a bag. In any case, the Elephant will bring you good luck!