Applique identification for boot bags

Another scrap buster! I do keep some tiny little bits of fabric sometimes, they can be so useful to make little appliqués. 

We got these new boot bags, great for carting our hiking boots around, thus keeping the car clean etc. But after the first few times of opening up both bags, my boots always being in the second one I tried, I thought - I'm going to label these! And what better way than to put an initial on each? (And use up a tiny bit more of the scrap stash.)

I found a couple of little bits of cottton fabric just big enough, about 2" by 3" (5cm x 7.5cm). You can find out a lot more about how to make appliqués in my post here.  But I'll give a quick explanation below.


All you need to make your own appliqué letters are some tiny scraps of fabric, some tiny scraps of iron-on interfacing, sewing machine and thread, and a template. 

The template is easy. I usually go to my computer and create a document with the letters I want in a typeface I like, in a very large font. Then I print it and cut it out. However, there are plenty of ready-made templates available. Here's one of my favourite sites.

I prepare the fabric by ironing on some interfacing to the back. I'd run out of the heavier weight interfacing I would normally use for appliqués, so I used two layers of thinner interfacing to give them some body. Then I traced round the letters on the wrong side, just drawing on the interfacing. Note that if your letter is non-reversible, you may need to trace it back to front. With letters like A, I, O, T, etc, a mirror image is exactly the same, so you don't need to worrry. A 'C' of course is not the same in a mirror image. But if you flip it from bottom to top, it will still be a C. However, some letters cannot be reversed in either way - J, for example, or N, or R. So be careful which way round you put your template.

Having traced the shape, you can either cut it out and then zig zag round the edge, or, I prefer to zig zag first on my machine, and then cut round as close as I can to the stitching. (If you are attaching to something simple, you may be able to do this all in one step - cut round the letter and zigzag it directly on to the garment, However, I always prefer to make the appliqué first - I may not always be using it straightaway. And in this case, I didn't want to be doing delicate work with the whole boot bag in the sewing machine.)

Here is the letter C, first the back, then the front. It's now ready to be attached.

You can use a straight stitch to attach it, or a loose zig zag - I usually use a loose zig zag. Here I was sewing through a thick canvas, so I switched to a less fine needle in the machine. Now no chance of getting the bags confused!

 Yet another good way to use up some scraps!