Applique

Applique is where you are adding smaller pieces of material to other materials as decoration or enhancement.

Appliqued cloth has been the tradition in Benin which is in west Africa since the 18th century. A famous piece of applique is the Hastings embroidery which was constructed in 1965 to represent the 900 years of the battle of Hastings in 1066. It consisted of 27 panels that were 9 by 3 ft each and was made by the royal school of needle work.
Applique is also used in quilting, Dresden Plate uses the traditional american quilt blocks which are made up of both applique and patchwork. Here is an image of one of her blocks.

I have managed to find a contemporary artist who has created a piece of applique, here is the image of her work. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find her name but here is her webpage where she has made many textile products and goes on to tell how she has created them. 

This piece she says she has tried to create an underwater plant scene using applique and a sewing machine to sew the piece of scrap material down and to create more detail. I like how she has kept some of the fraying edges.