Bondaweb from Vlieseline is a mainstay for appliqué in patchwork and I recently had a project that needed just this product. One of my ladies that joins me on a Friday for my Sit and Sew classes was attending a Christmas craft fair to help raise funds for the charity NOWZAD. They are working in Ukraine helping to feed and rescue the many animals that have been left behind or made homeless by the cruel war. You may have heard of the charity, NOWZAD, who initially worked in Afghanistan with animals there.
The project was to create a banner and we discussed the many options from a wall hanging to a large table sign. This is the option we went for – a large six foot sign which could be attached to the front of the table. The NOWZAD logo has a cat sat on a rock backed by two dogs and a donkey. The charity did lots of work to help with veterinary care of the many working donkeys in Afghanistan and rescued many of the homeless dogs and cats. The mountains of Afghanistan are in the background so this was going to be an interesting challenge. Vlieseline kindly sent me some Bondaweb to use for the project so a big thank you to them.
As NOWZAD has now transferred their work to Ukraine, and this was what the funds are being raised for, the Ukrainian flag was to be the background. We set out to make this banner using poly-cottons for the background and a calico for the sides and back of the banner. I drafted the logo onto paper, remembering to reverse the design, and then traced this onto the paper side of the Bondaweb.
But why reversed I hear you ask? For those new to this product it is effectively a layer of glue with a paper backing. You draw the image you wish to use onto the paper side of the Bondaweb, which is effectively the back of the design. This means you need to work with a mirror image. Cut out the shape roughly around the edge, not on the actual shape outline as this ensures the glue will go all the way to the edge. You now iron the shape onto the back of the fabric. It helps if you run the iron over it for a few seconds – you need to allow the glue to melt to get a good bond. Once bonded, you then cut out the shape on the line, remove the paper backing and bond to the background fabric. Tip to remove the paper – use a pin to lightly score the paper. You can then finish the edging with stitching of some description. Blanket or Satin Stitch are commonly used and we went for Blanket Stitch with a matching thread. This helps stop the edges from fraying.
The resulting flag was really effective and looked great on the charity stand. Bondaweb made this a quick project is a fantastic product, perfect for all your appliqués.
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