I have been asked many times what is the best way to hold applique pieces in place. A good question but not just one straight answer.
In the beginning I used fusible web to hold my pieces in place. The problem I had was it did not hold up for the duration of the time I was working on the piece. It became frustrating and I ended up using pins, which I wanted to get away from.
Pins: It is an option but my thread tended to snag and get caught when stitching. There had to be a better way!!!!!
Glue: You can use an water soluable glue stick or I have used Roxanne’s Glue. Again, I never found this really satisfying as the glue sometimes did not stick as well as I wanted and again I was back to the pins!
Staples: Yes! you read that right…lol I came across Leonie Bateman from Australia. She uses a combination of glue and staples. I have adopted this process and had great success! The wool will self heal those holes and you will never know you used a staple. It will also work with wool felt but I would suggest not putting staples in until you are really ready to sew your piece. While the holes do come out it takes a bit longer.
You can put in as many staples as you need to hold in place. I will put at least 2 more in my bird.
I hope that helps!
Happy Creating! Anita