Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique is accomplished either by hand stitching or machine. Appliqué is commonly practised with textiles, but the term may be applied to similar techniques used on different materials. In the context of ceramics, for example, an appliqué is a separate piece of clay added to the primary work, generally for the purpose of decoration.
A Future Buddha Maitreya Flanked by the Eighth Dalai Lama and His Tutor, 18th century Tibetan appliquéd silk
Appliqué cross. The edges are covered and stitches are hidden. It is overlaid with decorative gold thread.
Kutchi Applique work, KATAB work called in Kutch
Quilt block in reverse appliqué
A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, and a woven back combined using the techniques of quilting. This is the process of sewing on the face of the fabric, and not just the edges, to combine the three layers together to reinforce the material. Stitching patterns can be a decorative element. A single piece of fabric can be used for the top of a quilt, but in many cases the top is created from smaller fabric pieces joined, or patchwork. The pattern and color of these pieces creates the design. Quilts may contain valuable historical information about their creators, "visualizing particular segments of history in tangible, textured ways".
1940 photograph by Russell Lee of Mrs. Bill Stagg of Pie Town, New Mexico with state quilt
Little Amsterdam
Pieced quilt, cottons, c. 1865, unknown maker, Kentucky, dimensions: 80×85 inches. The design had numerous names such as Rocky Road and Crown of Thorns until it was renamed and marketed as "New York Beauty" in the 1930s by the Mountain Mist company. Included in the book "New York Beauty, Quilts from the Volckening Collection" (Quiltmania, France). Collection of Bill Volckening, Portland, Oregon.
Quilting bee in Central Park, 1973