I have my butterflies fused with interfacingand have practised using a blanket stitch to applique but it is hard for me to keep the stitching consistently to cover the edge without going onto to the background square. Any tips on how to make my applique edging more accurate and less "messy"? Any way to use paper as a guide? Thanks for any advice. Pauline (I can't see where the edge is because the foot covers it up as I sew it.

Great question; will look forward to replies!

Try a different foot....more open toe!! Good luck

I think it's just something you have to practice. Do you have a clear foot so you can see better?

If your stitching the applique down before sandwiching, use an open toe "clear" foot & you can see where your stitching. For quilting around applique, I use mostly YLI Wonder invisible thread with a stitch on my machine that looks like hand applique.

When I use the blanket stitch, I use an open toe foot and go very slowly. I run the straight stitches along the edge of the applique on the background and have only the zig over the applique.

Yes, use a clear foot and slow stitching. Practice and it will become second nature.

..The first time I tried machine appliqe and using the blanket sitch, oh lordy, it was not pretty......Practice, practice, practice....Also, try keeping your eyes slightly in front of where you are sewing........and try using an open-toed foot..that's what I've found works best for me......One other thing to consider, a friend of mine was having problems with her machine applique as well..no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the blanket stitch to sew correctly...it ended up being her feed dogs...they were loose...She got them fixed and now, she's doing great....Just food for thought....Good Luck....

I use a clear foot which helps immeasurably.

Oh - and go very slow.......... :-)