What is applique?
Applique applies fabric shapes onto larger pieces of cloth or fabric to create a pattern or picture.
There are three main ways of applying applique – by hand, by machine, or by being fused.
The fused method does not involve electricity or amps, but glues one fabric to another – normally by some gluing agent – like glue! This is the easiest way to stick your Paisley-shaped object to what you want.
Hand applique involves more work, usually stitching. This is the one you normally see in old movies when an excited bride doesn't notice she is being stabbed repeatedly by her dressmaker as they make last-minute adjustments to her applique wedding dress.
Machine applique unsurprisingly involves the use of a machine. This is the most expensive version of applique and generally uses a sewing machine or a converted power boat engine (no, that was a lie).
What is Paisley applique?
Paisley applique, yes, you've guessed it, is the application of Paisley shapes onto larger pieces of cloth or fabric to create a pattern or picture with the iconic Paisley swirl on it.
And what could be better than bringing a piece of plain fabric to life by embellishing it with the beautiful Paisley Pattern?
We can think of a few things - many things, actually - but in the context of fabric embellishment, then, no, we can’t.
Some people think that applique is an apple licorice liqueur. No, we don’t know why. However, it is the English version of the French ‘appliqué’. And so, it’s as close to the original French as anything actually could be without actually being.
The French verb from which appliqué derives is ‘appliquer’, which translated means ‘to put on’. We have all heard the saying ‘You are appliqueing me’, but that is not where it comes from.
‘Appliqué’ sounds a lot like ‘applying’ and that is not a coincidence or coïncidence, as they say in French, because they are. ‘To put on’ does not have any ring to it at all, and indeed if you were to call a specialist technique ‘Putting on’ or any other English equivalent of this, well… it is clear that we have the French to thank for the term ‘Appliqué’. As so often happens, the British – and I am British – cannot be bothered with accents, graves, or umlauts, and the term in the UK and USA is now known as ‘Applique’.
Whatever way you choose to do it, Paisley applique embroidery designs can look stunning.
Embroidery embellishment evokes etymological escapism when applied to sentence building, but it can also provide the most beautiful items to wear, hang on a wall, or sit on (either denim or sofa). If you can find anything better than Paisley to be the embellisher, please let me know (and I will do nothing with it because this site is only about Paisley).
