Decoration made by attaching pieces of fabric to a larger fabric surface.
Appliqué builds a design from cut pieces of one material laid on a larger ground and stitched to it; the word names both the technique and the ornament made with it. The Getty vocabulary places it mainly in needlework, though leatherworking and metalworking use it too. In reverse appliqué the order is inverted: several layers of cloth are stacked and shapes are cut out of them in layers of decreasing size, so the fabrics beneath show through.
The distinction a newcomer most often misses is with embroidery. An embroiderer forms the motif from thread; appliqué forms it from pieces of material, which may be sewn, embroidered or otherwise fastened to the ground. Watchmaking uses the word in a second sense: Patek Philippe’s glossary defines an applique as a raised numeral or hour marker applied or riveted to the dial, as opposed to a flat, painted one.
In job listings
The word appears mostly at the watch dial bench, in dial finishing, assembly and prototype roles that place appliqués and indexes on dials and rivet their feet. In fashion listings it is rare; the nearest roles are in embroidery development, purchasing and product management. See current appliqué roles.
