For over 20 years, Anita Goodesign has created stunning works of art in both quilting and embroidery collections, but one of our favorite things to watch come to life would be our intricate tile scenes! A tile scene is defined by Anita as beautiful and detailed pieces of original art that have been divided up and digitized into multiple quilt blocks. This way, the scene can be created on a home embroidery machine, block-by-block. Once the blocks are joined together, they create the larger image as a whole.
While tile scenes can come with a variety of techniques in them, the most common feature is appliqué fabrics to help build the elements in the completed scene, however some collections focus more on the digitized stitching than on the fabrics used in the tile scene image. In this case, we love to incorporate our hidden appliqué technique in order to eliminate the need for heavier stitching and fill shading! By using the hidden appliqué technique in our tile scenes, we can take the focus off the fabric and create more visual interest in the types of shading, direction of stitching, and color combinations of thread to really "paint" the final picture.
Standard Appliqué versus Hidden Appliqué
As shown above, these two Special Edition tile scenes feature appliqué fabrics in their construction, but they feature some key differences! The left image taken from Americana Homestead demonstrates a collection that is a tile scene, but follows a more hand-spun, homey look to their design, keeping the focus on the fabrics and textures we chose. Meanwhile, on the right, we feature one of the two scenes from Exodus, which showcases stunning stitched details and intricate shading. While designs with hidden appliqué tend to take longer to run, they promise a more realistic look to the final imagery.
Here, you'll see a detail shot of our Noah's Ark Tile Scene, which uses our hidden appliqué technique to illustrate all the various parts of the image.
You'll notice a mix of scenery fabrics, like light and dark greens for ground or shrubbery, while hidden appliqués of tan, browns, and grays will help construct each of the animal pairings. Digitized stitching will then embroider over each hidden appliqué, creating depth and detail--all keeping the stitches less dense compared to fully embroidered elements!
Hidden Appliqué Saves You Stitch Time!
We love utilizing this technique in Special Edition releases and other quilting collections, especially when the design can easily incorporate material to create a background color rather than straight stitching, whether its in background elements like branches or trees, or used as a main support under stitching like in Exodus Special Edition! Check out this clip below of one of our popular tile scene collections, the Cardinal Tile Scene, as we go over some of its features and how the hidden appliqué saves you time!
Itching to stitch?
Check out some of these stunning tile scene collections below, each featuring hidden appliqué!
