Pictorial Guide to Back Basting

Baste and Trim

We will now return to complete our heart applique. You should have your applique fabric pinned to the front of your background.

Step 4: Turn your work to the back. Using a large needle (size 7 works well), and a 30 or 40 weight thread, baste around the piece that you will be appliquéing. Use fairly short basting stitches on edges that you will be needle turning. Use longer stitches on edges that are under other applique pieces. Be sure to either start or end a stitch in each turning point.


Back	Front

Step 5: Flip your work to the front side again. If you have a small patch such as the leaf in the previous example, trim the design using small scissors or appliqué scissors allowing a 1/8" or 3/16" seam allowance. If you have a large piece, rough cut around the appliqué patch. This rough cut doesn't have to be even but it does have to be outside of your normal seam allowance. If I have enough material I will make this cut between 3/8" to 1/4" outside basted line. I rough cut pieces that I will not be able to stitch in one sitting.

Step 6: Thread your needle with your favorite applique thread. We are ready to begin sewing. First we will select a beginning location. On a piece that will be overlapped, begin stitching where the stitching will be underneath the piece that overlaps it. On a piece that is not overlapped, select a spot that is fairly straight. On a large piece, trim the seam allowance to 1/8" in the area where you are going to begin. This is our final trim so try to keep the seam allowance as even as possible. If you are stitching a small piece you will have already trimmed to the desired seam allowance. Clip a couple of the basting threads in the area where you have chosen to begin. These clips will probably need to be about 1" apart when we first start. The basting threads can be removed by pulling them out by hand or by lifting them out with the tip of your needle.


Pull basting thread by hand	Pull basting thread with tip of needle

After pulling the basting thread you will may see small holes made by the thread in either the appliqué fabric or in the background fabric. Some descriptions of back basting depend upon these holes. My method doesnt. Use the basting threads ahead of your stitching and the edge of your stitched shape behind your current stitching to guide you. If you use the following guides, you will not need to look for holes in the fabric.

Even seam allowance.
Basting stitches ahead of your stitching.
Edge of your applique patch behind your current stitching.

By using these three guides, you will not need to look for holes in the fabric. Most fabrics will not show a hole. I would even recommend that you practice on fabrics that don't so that you do not become dependent upon holes in the fabric.


Holes in appliqu? patch	Holes in background

Using your needle or a toothpick, turn under the seam allowance. You will find that your seam allowance will turn very easily along the line that you have basted. You are now ready to stitch. As you begin, use the back basting stitches behind your thread and the back basting stitches ahead of your thread to guide you when turning under the seam allowance. After you have taken a few stitches, use the edge of your completed applique behind your current stitching location and the back basting stitches ahead of your current stitching location to guide you.

Well, that's all there is to it. After stitching your first piece, pick another patch and repeat steps 3-6. Check out the next page for additional tips.

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