Did you see our Facebook LIVE on May 5th? Margaret did a step-by-step DEMO of the Machine Reverse Applique with Applique and Under-coloring featuring the Crown Pineapple block! If you missed it you can still see it on Eye of the Beholder Quilt Design Facebook page pinned right to the top!

I love reverse applique. And I also love finding ways to create added dimensionality when I reverse applique. That’s what this tutorial is all about: Reverse Applique with Applique and Under-Coloring using the Crown Pineapple block from our newest pattern Hospitality Quilt XVII. This tutorial will be thorough, covering both hand and machine methods.

Our Hospitality Quilt XVII (50” x 50”) is such a bright, colorful quilt designed in hand-dyed fabrics by Cherrywood fabrics, 2020. In the center are 4 Crown Pineapple blocks that are reverse appliqué with appliqué.  For added interest we also added under-coloring. 

Under-coloring is where you lay a piece of fabric on your background fabric before you put your top fabric on. Then when you cut away your top fabric to do your reverse applique stitching, where ever you have added the under-color fabric you will have a different color peaking through your top fabric. Under-coloring, along with the added applique gives the block its unique dimensionality. We have several patterns that use this technique, and like this block, they can be made by hand or machine.  This blog is a tutorial with lots of pictures that will cover a step-by-step how-to that supports the Hospitality pattern’s directions, and will cover both hand and machine. 

Making the Crown Pineapple Blocks

Hand Reverse Appliqué with Appliqué & Under-color

Trace -

1.        Lay out Crown Pineapple pattern. Find the middle of the length and width of Yellow background fabric. Iron or finger fold. Open up Yellow background fabric and lay on pattern piece with wrong side up, aligning fabric folds with the pattern’s hash marks.  Pin to pattern.

2.       With a sharp pencil, or other marking tool, trace around all the black, gray and cross-hatched shapes of the pattern onto wrong side of background fabric. 

a.       You may need a light box for this step. You may want to put a “UC” in the gray shapes to denote they will be under-colored, and an “A” in the cross-hatched shapes to denote they will be appliqué.

3.       When completely traced, remove pins.

Adding the Under-color fabrics-

a.       On the right side of your background fabric, lay a rough cut Light Green under-color fabric so that it covers the tracing of the gray leaf shape that’s on the back.  Pin baste with your safety pins.

b.      Using needle and thread, baste around the edges of the Light Green under-color fabric. Remove pins as you baste.

4.      Find the middle of length and width of Berry 1 top fabric.  Iron or finger fold.  Open it up and place your top fabric right side down on your working surface. Lay your Yellow background fabric right side down on the wrong side of your Berry 1 top fabric, aligning folds.  Smooth out and pin-baste with your safety pins.

Baste -

Working from the back of the pin-basted piece, use your No. 7 Sharp needle and basting thread in a contrasting color to your Berry 1 top fabric, and baste through all layers on the drawn lines of all the black and gray shapes on the pattern. Baste with a single thread.  Knot at the beginning and end of each shape. DO NOT carry your thread to the next shape. Remove pins as you baste, leaving the ones around the edges.

Snip -

1.        Refer to the pattern before you cut.  Cut away the top material only of the black and gray shapes.  On the pattern piece:

White- your Berry 1 top material

Black - what will be cut away, revealing your Yellow background fabric

Gray – what will be cut away, revealing your Light Green under-color fabric

2.       Using your small, sharp scissors, choose a black or gray shape near the center.  Carefully separate the Berry 1 top material from the background/ under-color fabric by feel.  Make a small snip so you can get the scissors between the fabric layers. Trim approximately 1/8” – ¼” inside of your basting thread to create a seam allowance.  Repeat for all of the black and gray shapes of the design.  Discard what you cut out.  You will sew under the raw edges of the openings, allowing the Yellow background and Light Green under-color materials to show through.

3.       You can trim the whole piece now, or trim in sections and then sew under as you go.

4.      Clip inside & outside curves and inside corners on each piece to allow the top material to needle-turn under easily.

Stitch - Hand Reverse Appliqué

1.        Use your No. 11 Milliner’s needle and thread that matches your Berry 1 top fabric. Thread needle to sew with a single thread. Knot.

2.       For each shape you are working on, clip every other basting thread.  With your needle, pop out one basting thread. Use your needle like a windshield wiper, and sweep under the raw edge of the top fabric at the basting line, aligning the folded edge with the holes left by the basting thread in the background or under-color fabric.  Bring your needle up from the back through the folded edge and pull through.

3.       Sweep the top fabric in front of your stitch back at the basting line. Send your needle down into the background fabric right next to where you came up with your last stitch, and come up 1/8” – ¼” ahead catching the folded edge.  Continue this process until all raw edges are stitched under. 

4.      At the end, pull needle and thread to the back and knot securely.  Repeat for each shape in the design.

Hand Appliqué

Baste -

1.        On the front of your block, lay your Dark Green or Dark Orange appliqué fabric so that it covers the tracing of the cross-hatched shape that’s on the back.  Pin baste with your safety pins. The Dark Green is for the leaves and the Dark Orange is for the Pineapple pieces.

2.       Working from the back, use your No. 7 Sharp needle and a contrasting basting thread, and baste through all layers on the drawn lines of the cross-hatched shapes. Remove pins as you baste. You may be able to baste more than one shape at a time, but be sure you have enough space between the shapes to create a seam allowance.  If not, you will need to appliqué one shape down before you baste the next fabric piece. Repeat for all the cross-hatched shapes.

Snip -

1.        Using your small, sharp scissors, carefully trim approximately 1/8” – ¼” outside of your basting thread to create a seam allowance.  Repeat for all of the cross-hatched shapes of the design. 

2.       Clip inside & outside curves and inside corners on each piece to allow the appliqué material to needle turn under easily.

Stitch - Hand Appliqué:

1.        Following steps 1 -4 of Stitch - Hand Reverse Appliqué, above, appliqué the shape.

2.       Repeat for each appliqué shape in the design.

Machine Reverse Appliqué with Appliqué & Under-color

Trace -

1.        Lay out Crown Pineapple pattern. Cut iron-on fusible to the correct dimensions.  Find the middle of the length and width of the fusible. Crease. Open up fusible and lay on pattern with paper side up, aligning folds with the patterns hash marks. Pin to pattern.

2.       With a sharp pencil trace all black, gray & cross-hatched shapes onto the fusible. Number the cross-hatched shapes to create an “A” map and to remind you not to cut these shapes out when working on the reverse applique. Cross-hatched shapes are for applique. When done, remove pins.

Iron –

1.        Find the middle of the length and width of your Berry 1 top fabric by folding.  Iron or finger fold. Open up to lay flat.

2.       Lay Berry 1 top fabric right side down.  Lay iron-on fusible, glue side down, onto the wrong side of Berry 1 top fabric.  You may want to secure with pins.  Iron fusible onto your fabric following your fusible material’s directions.  Remember to remove your pins before you iron.

Snip -

With small, sharp scissors, carefully cut on the lines to cut out the black and gray shapes on the pattern. Discard what you cut out. On the pattern piece:

White- your Berry 1 top material

Black and gray- what you will cut out and discard

Iron –

1.        Find the middle of the length and width of your Yellow background fabric.  Iron or finger fold.  Open up and lay flat with wrong side down.

2.       Peel the paper off the fused Berry 1 top material without tearing it.  (DO NOT discard.  You will use this paper, your “A” map, as a template for placement of the under-color & applique).

3.       Carefully lay glue side of fused Berry 1 top material onto the right side of Yellow background material or use your “A” map.  If you use your top material, align the middles of the length and width of both fabrics with each other.  Secure the top edge of the fabrics with pins.  DO NOT IRON YET!

Adding the Under-color fabrics-

a.       Cut a piece of fusible 8” x 10”. Trace the leaves that will be under-colored 4 times. Group the two leaf shapes together and trace 1/8” – ¼” larger than the outside edges.  Lay a piece of Light Green under-color fabric, right side down.  Place iron-on fusible, glue side down, onto the wrong side of your Light Green under-color fabric. Iron fusible onto your fabric. Cut the leaf lump out. Peel off the paper.

b.      Place the fused Light Green under-color fabric leaves, glue side down, onto the right side of the Yellow background fabric under the fused Berry 1 top fabric or “A” map, so they are positioned in the gray shape openings. 

c.       Iron the Light Green under-color fabric onto the right side of your Yellow background fabric.

4.      Iron fused Berry 1 top fabric onto the Yellow background.

5.       Stabilize your fabric with Terial Magic spray-on stabilizer or your stabilizer of choice.

Stitch -

1.        You can stitch your reverse applique now, or wait until your applique pieces are positioned and stitch everything at once. Thread your sewing machine with thread that matches your Berry 1 top fabric.

2.       To satin stitch, select your machine’s zig-zag stitch.  Adjust your sewing machine’s stitch width and length until you have the desired look.

3.       Machine reverse appliqué, covering all raw edges with thread that matches your top fabric.

Machine Appliqué

Trace -

1.        Lay out your Crown Pineapple pattern.  Lay iron-on fusible on the cross-hatched pattern shapes, leaves and pineapple pieces, with the paper side up and trace your applique shapes with a sharp pencil. Group leaves together and pineapple pieces together, tracing 4 of each, as you are making 4 blocks. Number all the cross-hatched shapes in the same order as you did on your “A” map in Machine Reverse Appliqué with Appliqué-Trace step #2 above. 

2.       Lay a piece of your appliqué fabric, Dark Green for leaves and Dark Orange for pineapple pieces, right side down.  Place the appropriate piece of iron-on fusible, glue side down, onto the wrong side of your appliqué fabric. Iron fusible onto your fabric.

Snip-

With small, sharp scissors, carefully cut on the lines of these cross-hatched shapes. Don’t cut out the pineapple pieces until you are ready to fuse them onto your block.

Iron-

1.        Place your Reverse Appliqué Crown Pineapple top on your ironing surface with the right side up and place the “A” map on it, upside down.   Align the cut-outs in the paper with the matching shapes of the design on your reverse appliqué block.  Pin the upper edge.

2.       Peel the paper off your appliqué shapes.  Referring to your “A” map numbering system, place the fused appliqué shapes, glue side down, onto your block under the paper.  Use the paper to help position them.

3.       Iron onto the top of your block.

Stitch- Machine Appliqué

1.        Thread your sewing machine with thread that matches each fabric color.

2.       To satin stitch, select your machine’s zig-zag stitch.  Adjust your sewing machine’s stitch width and length until you have the desired look.

3.       Machine appliqué, covering all raw edges with thread that matches you’re a fabric.

The Crown Pineapple block with its many layers is rich in dimensional texture. I hope you have had fun making it.

A word about quilting this block: When you’ve constructed your quilt and are ready to quilt you will want to augment those layers with your quilting to bring those dimensions out. Its a bit fussier in the quilting, but worth it for the end result. You will want to quilt inside the reverse applique spaces to make them sink into the batting, and outside the applique shapes to make them pop and puff.

As I said at the beginning of this blog, several of our patterns combine reverse applique with applique and under-coloring. If you’ve enjoyed this creation journey, we hope you will look for our other great patterns: Glorious, Amidala’s Flower, Tulips & Lace, and all our Flowers have an option to add applique.

To read the story about our Hospitality Quilt click here. For pictorial information and tips on paper-piecing the Friendship Pineapple blocks for the Hospitality Quilt read the blog Paper-Piecing Know How: Friendship Pineapple Block.

Our creative collaborators in Hospitality Quilt XVII design are Siesta Silver Jewelry and Cherrywood Fabrics. If you love the fabrics in our quilt you can get a fabric kit from Cherrywood fabrics. And You can adorn yourself in the Crown PIneapple in Siesta Silver Jewelry’s beautiful sterling silver transcriptions of this block design.