An applique is a simple figure of your design, cut, placed, and stitched onto a larger yardage surface which will be used as a chair throw, bed cover, or other household linen usage. Appliques can be made from any small pieces of fabric giving it a useful or decorative purpose. Anyone who loves fabrics finds it difficult to toss pieces of cloth into the trash container especially if it can be used in another manner. Appliques can be hand stitched or machine stitched. Traditional quilters prefer hand stitching. The reason being the quilt appears to be of better quality, measurements are more accurate, and there seems to be a better texture or tactile feel to the finished quilt.

Make an applique quilt with your own design. If you are a beginner choose a simple circular quilt design. If you prefer something more complicated you may wish to purchase an iron on applique or an applique kit. It fits the description of a beginner starting with a circular pattern. It is simple, but it gives you an opportunity to experiment with hand stitching or machine stitching. The leaves will offer other experiences. The orange is a fruit which will be simple to draw as it is a slightly irregular circle with a stem and leaves. You may use cotton fabric which appears to have a dimpled orange peel pattern or stuff the orange for a raised dimensional appearance, or apply a photo in the middle of the orange for an exclusive personal touch.

To add more interest you may wish to cut the orange into four quarters using four different fabric prints, patterns or solids and reconnect in a random order. It will still be an orange; however, there will be an interesting array of color variations within each orange. The leaves may be made from fabric, ribbon, cord, other trims or painted with textile paints. The advantage of starting with a round object is for its simplicity and for creating the overall quilt design for the final appearance of your quilting project. The advantages of making your own applique pattern design allows you the freedom to use a variety of materials or notions which will be suitable for the applique quilt design which you have created.

Applique work is a technique by which patches of colored fabric cut in various motifs and sizes are superposed on a basic fabric to obtain a decorative whole, with edges of adjacent patches sewn together in some form of stitchery. Color palette for traditional applique items is very basic – red, white, black and yellow fabrics are used to form a vibrant collage, with black preferably forming the base. Glass pieces, metal wires and beads are used for further embellishment. Nowadays, Pipli craftsmen and manufacturers are experimenting with other colors as well to enliven the craft even more.

Today, applique finds expressions in a wide variety of home decor items. From wall-hangings and awnings to Kundini-worked decorative pieces, the range of appliq items available nowadays is pretty exhaustive. One can even choose from a variety of mirror-worked appliqué dresses and skirts for a perfect evening do. Nothing can match the vibrancy of a applique worked handbag on a private function with sequins sewn on it. Appliqué bags and jholas are also becoming quite a rage these days on campuses.

The choice of applique items of Pipli origin for a prospective buyer does not end here. Manufacturers in Pipli and Puri are nowadays flooded with offers from star-rated hotels and resorts to supply applique made side walls and garden umbrellas. Upcoming designers are also considering it a new way to express their creative visions. Accordingly, the fabric used for this typical patchwork has undergone a refreshing change. It is no more the same thick cotton base that is used to elaborate a certain theme; now experimentation is done with fabrics as varied as velvet, satin and Georgette.

Popularity of applique items of Pipli is clearly on the rise. Rathayatra or no Rathayatra- applique saleables of Pipli are now regarded as a major crowd-puller in Puri. Tourists thronging this beach city from all over India and the world find applique art absolutely entrancing, and they make it point to buy a thing or two of this amazing work of art to add a dash of color either to their wardrobe or to a dull nook back at home. This has been augmenting the demand for applique items of Pipli to a large scale over the years. Applique work of Pipli is now a much sought after art of embroidery. Decorative items made of it are colorful, yet not jazzy. They help make a statement when put up at the right place or accessorized properly. The most interesting fact about applique items of Pipli are, unlike many other decorative artifacts of daily use, they are not overtly expensive.