What’s that little light you see in eyes? It’s called a catchlight, or a catch light, or a spark of life, or a bunch of other poetic names. Whatever you call it – adding a little speck of light really brings applique eyes to life.
It’s one of the reason I love using black safety eyes on my dolls and stuffed animals. The surface is shiny, so it reflects the light and you get that little spark that makes them awesome.
But you can’t really use those plastic eyes on applique.
No matter!
There are lots of different ways to add that catchlight to applique eyes. Here are three different methods. . .
Fabric Paint
Easy peasy! Just paint those specks in!
I’ve tested a bunch of different fabric paints to use for eyes too small to applique. For catchlights on applique eyes I went straight to my favorite – Scribbles fabric paint.
It dries shiny and 3D and is impossible to pick off. 🙂
If you’re nervous about painting on a finished block, try just a dot.
If you’re feeling a little braver, go for a crescent shape.
If you’re nervous about a crescent, think of it as a comma, or a closed parenthesis – and definitely practice on paper to get a feel for how the paint flows.
Pros of fabric paint
- inexpensive
- fast
- easy
- permanent
Cons of fabric paint
- permanent
- takes a while for the paint to cure
- someone in your quilt guild might say you’re a cheater pants
Hand Embroidery
This is another really simple option. Just a few stitches and you’ll have some sparkling eyes.
For this I like to use #8 Perle Cotton embroidery thread and a size 3 or 4 embroidery needle. You may need a thimble too.
Bring your needle up at point A. Leave a 3-6 inch tail hanging on the back side of the block – long enough to tie into a knot with your other tail when you’re finished.
Take one stitch from A to B.
Come up at point C and take a stitch from C back to B.
Come up at point D (just a smidge to the side of point A) and take a stitch from D to B.
Tie off your tails in the back and repeat for the second eye.
Beautiful catchlights in those eyes!
Pros
- simple – no special tools or tech needed
- can unpick the stitches if you don’t like how it looks
- portable
- no drying time needed
Cons
- It can be hard to push the needle through fabric backed with fusible adhesive. You may need a thimble.
- slow
Machine Embroidered
You can embroider those catchlights by machine – even if you don’t have an embroidery machine. You just need to have some decorative stitches.
On my machine I used a stitch that looks like a little row of triangles or arrow points. I adjusted the length and width to something that looked good, and I curved it a bit as it sewed.
See that scrap of fabric sitting next to that dog face?
Once I was happy with my stitch settings, I stitched up a little sample and wrote the stitch number, length and width right on the sample. Now I have that reference any time I need it and I don’t have to do that testing again!
Here’s what my machine screen looks like.
See? I used stitch #401, set to a width of 3.5 and a length of 12.0. My machine is a Bernina 710, so your setting may vary from that – but you probably have a stitch that will work.
One thing to note when you’re tricking your machine into thinking it’s an embroidery machine. . .
See how this stitch makes a continuous row of triangles if you just keep sewing? You have to pay REALLY close attention to when the triangle is coming to a point so you can stop it and tie off before it jumps back up to the wide section of the next triangle in the row.
Pros
- fast
- can be picked out if you make a mistake
Cons
- requires some fiddling with your machine
So there you have it! Three different ways to add catchlights to applique eyes to really bring them to life.
Here are links to all the posts showing how to applique with fusible adhesive – my favorite method. It’s fast and easy and (with the right materials) it holds up beautifully to rough use and repeated washing.
- How to Applique with Fusible Adhesive – a very basic intro
- How Durable is Applique with Fusible Adhesive?
- Fusible Applique the Easy Way – the way I currently work – use with any of my patterns that include SVG files
- How to Use a Light Box to Layer Your Applique – perfect placement every time
- How to Applique with Fusible Adhesive – photo tutorial – use with any of my patterns that do not include SVG files
- How to Applique with Fusible Adhesive – video tutorial – use with any of my patterns that do not include SVG files
Here are links to special posts about eyes.
- Easy Eye Options for Applique
- Using Fabric Markers and Paints for Small Eyes
- Free Embroidery Machine Files for Machine-Stitched Eyes
- How to Machine Stitch Eyes without an Embroidery Machine
- How to Minimize Show-Through on White Eyes
- How to Applique Dark Eyes on Dark Faces
- How to Add Catchlights to Eyes
- How to Change the Eyes on Your Applique Patterns (adding lashes or changing to sleepy or smiling eyes)
Here are links to some extra fun things you can do with your applique.
- How to Add a Baby Animal to Any Block
- How to Squish Two Animals into One Block
- How to Add Playful 3D Bits to Your Applique
- How to Add Soft 3D Pieces to your Quilt Block
- How to Add a Door (that Opens!) to Your Quilt Block
- How to Give Your Monster an Underbite
- Fake Trapunto (Stuffed) Applique
- Broderie Perse Applique
Other Applique Methods
Finished with this topic?
Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.
Move on to the lessons about outline stitching.
You read my mind, Wendi. I was about to experiment with ‘catchlights’. These are three excellent options. I love embroidery, so was planning to try that, but I like the look of the fabric paint, so that’s my choice. Thank you for being so thorough in your descriptions, pictures, testing, and naming of specific products. You make everything so easy!
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Love this! 🤩