Have you ever seen a really cute applique pattern and thought “If only I could sew….” or “I wish I could find a pattern like that for (insert your favorite crafty pursuit here)!”? Well, get ready for some great news – you can use just about any applique pattern for painting, paper crafts and more!
Take my “Love Those Shoes!” collection of patterns: Over the Rainbow, Fashionista, Oh, So Coco! and Meeow! – now available in my Craftsy pattern store. I designed these fun, colorful shoes almost ten years ago, when I tried my hand at hand painted needlepoint canvases, and they were so cute! I’ve used them on note cards, in calendars…even Christmas cards. A few years ago, I decided to focus more on sewing and quilting patterns and “Poof!” they magically transformed into applique patterns that make really sweet pillows, wall hangings, quilt blocks, and more. If you can sew, you can easily follow these patterns to create pillows and wall hangings.
Late last year, I started thinking about other uses for applique patterns, and came up with a pretty good list. Here are just a few:
- Trace and paint them onto canvases, wooden signs, walls, floors, even furniture and plates
- Create a stencil by tracing the pattern onto stencil plastic and sponge-paint them on all of the stuff above.
- Roll out fondant and use the pattern or stencil to cut out decorative accents for cakes.
- Create banners, table signs and more by tracing on card stock, cutting and assembling pieces.
- What else can you think of?
Here are a few other applique patterns that are great for multi-purposing – these are even free!