With the advent of new tools and technology for the quilter, appliqué has become not only faster, but also more complex in design. Each of the traditional modes has expanded their capabilities and extended the ideas of what can be done with tradition. The look of stained glass, for example, increases design possibilities. Perhaps the biggest innovation with appliqué is the availability of new stitches on the sewing machine to complete the appliqué.

Invisible thread allows you to machine sew pieces into place on background fabric, without having any stitches show. You start with bottom pieces in the design, attach them with the machine, and then keep adding pieces on top, reversing the process of hand appliqué. New stitches allow you to use decorative stitches, like the time-consuming blanket stitch, to attach pieces. Buttons can now be added by machine. New threads give more flexibility to the satin stitch, providing a smooth edge that becomes part of the design.

Baltimore album quilts have become complex tributes to people and places, with each square increasingly detailed, incorporating traditional appliqué with embellishment. Photo transfers provide realism, fusibles provide quick basting (sometimes permanent), and new threads, pencils, and fabric crayons allow for additional shading and stitching to enhance the design.

Hawaiian quilting incorporates hand-dyes, batiks, and hand-painting into their traditional designs. The process is the same, as part of the joy of Hawaiian quilting is the hand quilting. The patterns have expanded to incorporate additional flowers, but the use of different fabrics, such as hand-dyed or painted silk, has increased the textural opportunities for appliqué.

Folk art will use more unusual fabrics, as well as found objects like old buttons, and Sunbonnet Sue can be found in unusual situations, leading to some amusing quilts. Photo transfers also can add a historical touch with scans of old newspapers and postcards, as well as wedding photos for the anniversary quilts.

One of the most popular innovations is portrait quilts. Individuals are represented in all their uniqueness, using multiple fabrics appliquéd in place to provide shading and realism. Whether it be a family member, a beloved pet, or some favorite vacation spot, the use of smaller appliqué pieces to create realism is a challenge to the skills of the quilter. You begin by choosing an appropriate photograph that will give layers of shading (or creating your own drawing), finding fabrics that provide a very wide range of shadings, and organizing the whole process, from small sections to the whole design.

Stained glass quilts are another example of innovative appliqué. Use a photo of a real window or design your own. The dark lines in the quilt represent the leading of stained glass. Pieces are appliquéd into place, and then a dark bias strip is appliquéd on top to represent the leading in the window. You can reverse this process; appliqué the individual pieces on to a black background, and let the background act as the leading in the window.

Molas are a type of reverse appliqué. Instead of placing small pieces of fabric on top of larger pieces, as in regular appliqué, you reverse the process by layering fabrics and then cutting through layers to expose other fabrics in intricate designs. Stitching becomes very important in accenting design and anchoring layers together.

Celtic quilting, yet another type of appliqué, is a continuous weaving of lines, no beginning, no end, that represents the road of life. Using bias, you can get intricate curves that can be appliquéd in one continuous knot. Choose two contrasting fabrics, one for the "knot" and one for the background; use a bias tube to turn fabric into a long strip, and then appliqué.

Whatever the style, appliqué lets you create layer upon layer of innovative beauty. Take advantage of new fabrics and threads, new stitches, and create a work of art.

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