Making applique patches out of left over fabric

Do you find, like me, you end up with 10cm of fabric left after making a project that you can't bear to throw out because of the super cute print? Ever wondered what to do with that odd shaped half circle left on your fabric after cutting out your pattern?

If so, I have the perfect solution for you. recycle these little pieces in to iron on applique patches to use in the future. They make a great on hand item to decorate your wares, or several can be used together as a gift for a crafty friend.

For this project you will need

-Leftover fabrics with cute prints/pictures. Cotton and cotton blends work best.

 -Double sided iron on interfacing/applique interfacing. I used a product called Vliseofix (not sure of spelling).

-Baking paper. Yep, the stuff you bake cookies on.

-An iron with a cotton setting

Begin by cutting quite close to the design you want on your finished product. I like to leave about half a cm gap around them to make the final cutting neater.

Place your interfacing paper side down on an ironing board. If you don't have an ironing board you can use a bath towel folded several times over a table. This is what I use :)

Heat your iron to cotton for cotton or cotton blends, or the hottest you can safely use if using other fabrics. 

Safety note : do not use any fabric with a plastic coating or a raised image (unless embroidered) as melting plastic/ink can produce toxic fumes.

Place your designs right side up on the interfacing. I like to place them as close together as possible without overlapping to save on interfacing, as it can be expensive.

Place a piece of baking paper larger than the interfacing over the top of the whole thing. Hold your iron without moving it for 10 seconds over each section.

Allow to cool for 30 seconds-1 minute, then remove the baking paper. 

Carefully cut around the pictures. If you find the backing paper peels off while doing this, simply place between two pieces of baking paper when fully cut and iron again for 3-5 seconds.

Here is a picture with the instructions for use. If you click on the picture you can see it full size. Feel free to save this picture and print out to keep with your patches.

If you do want to give these as gifts to a friend, you can easily package them in small party favour bags and include the above instructions on how to use.

Happy crafting :)