If there's one material that earns its place in every textiles maker's kit, it's bondaweb. Versatile, accessible, and capable of producing genuinely beautiful results, bondaweb (also known as fusible webbing) opens up a huge range of creative possibilities — from simple appliqué to crashing and complex layered artworks.
Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced maker looking for fresh ideas, this guide covers everything you need to know about working with bondaweb.
What Is Bondaweb?
Bondaweb is a double-sided fusible webbing — a thin layer of heat-activated adhesive on a paper backing. When ironed onto fabric, it bonds the fabric to the paper. You can then cut shapes from the bonded fabric, peel off the paper backing, and iron the shape onto another fabric to fuse them together permanently.
The result is a clean, precise appliqué that can be left as-is or further embellished with stitch, paint, or other surface techniques.
What You'll Need
- Bondaweb (available from most fabric and craft suppliers)
- An iron and ironing board
- Fabric scraps in a range of colours and textures
- Sharp scissors or a craft knife and cutting mat
- A background fabric (cotton or calico works well)
- Baking parchment (to protect your iron)
- Optional: hand or machine embroidery thread for embellishment
Step-by-Step: Basic Bondaweb Appliqué
- Draw or trace your shape onto the paper side of the bondaweb
- Roughly cut around the shape, leaving a small border
- Iron the bondaweb (paper side up) onto the wrong side of your chosen fabric
- Cut out the shape precisely along your drawn line
- Peel off the paper backing
- Position the shape on your background fabric (adhesive side down) and iron to fuse
- Embellish with stitch, paint, or additional bondaweb layers as desired
Creative Project Ideas
Layered Landscape
Create a layered landscape composition using bondaweb-fused fabric shapes in different colours and textures. Think about foreground, midground, and background, and add hand stitch detail to the finished piece for extra depth and texture.
Botanical Study
Observe and draw a plant or flower, then translate your drawings into bondaweb fabric shapes. The resulting botanical artwork combines observational drawing with surface textiles practice — and makes a beautiful finished piece to display or gift.
Artist-Inspired Composition
Research a textile artist or painter who uses bold shapes and colour (Matisse, Klee, or contemporary textile artists work well), then create a bondaweb composition inspired by their work. Add free machine embroidery for texture and detail.
Portrait or Figure
More adventurous makers can use bondaweb to create figurative work — building up a portrait or figure from layered fabric shapes. This works particularly well when combined with discharge printing or natural dyeing for the background fabric.
Abstract Colour Study
Don't overthink it — sometimes the most striking bondaweb work is purely abstract. Cut shapes intuitively, play with colour relationships, and let the composition develop organically. Layer, overlap, and add stitch to build complexity.
Tips for Getting the Best Results
- Build a fabric scrap collection — the more variety you have in colour, texture, and weight, the more interesting your compositions will be
- Encourage layering — bondaweb works beautifully when shapes are layered on top of each other, creating depth and complexity
- Combine with other techniques — bondaweb is most powerful as a starting point, not a finished technique. Add stitch, paint, or other surface work to bring it to life
- Always use baking parchment — place it between the iron and your work to protect both the iron and the fabric
- Experiment with sheer fabrics — layering organza or chiffon over bondaweb-fused shapes creates beautiful translucent effects
Take It Further
Our Creating Artworks With Bondaweb online course takes you through the full range of bondaweb techniques with step-by-step video instruction — learn at your own pace, from home.
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