It’s fun and easy to make leaf patterns for applique. Just gather a collection of interesting leaves. They don’t even have to be in autumn colors, just find some shapes that you like. When you’re choosing fabric for your leaves, they can be any colors you want.
Lay the leaves down on a computer scanner or photocopy machine and print them out. If they’re not the right size you can enlarge or reduce them. This is a scan of some gingko leaves I collected.
If you’re in a hurry you can use the printout just as it is. Otherwise trace the outlines of the leaves onto a new piece of paper and use that as your pattern. Tape the printout to a sunny window and place a blank sheet of paper on top and it will be easy to see.
You can trace all the details of the leaves just as they are or you can simplify the outlines as I did with my gingko leaf patterns below.
Here’s a fun free project I designed using my gingko leaf patterns, Autumn Gingko Leaves Purse Jewelry. You can download the PDF at CottonSpice.net, September 2007 issue, page 40.
Clever idea! I love to do this with flowers and often place a piece of my hand-dyed fabric behind them so that they have a lovely background that can just be printed out on fabric.