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Crazy for Christmas Pillow
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Crazy for Christmas Pillow |
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Kenny takes
the trendy crazy quilt style,
originally popular in the 1800s,
and makes it fresh for the holidays!
Small pieces of fabric put
together in fabulously random ways
give this "crazy quilt" cushion a
lot of personality and charm, and
make it certain that no two will be
alike! Add Battenburg lace, and
embellishments of your choosing such
as buttons
and decorative cord, and you have a
lovely pillow sure to bring a
special touch to your home decor for
the season.
Read on for instructions to
make one of your own!
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Supplies Needed continued:
**One
standard 1" button (for back closure)
**1/4" wide
ribbon (for button tie)
**Fabric glue
**Straight edge
**Needle and
thread for some hand sewing |
Supplies
Needed:
**18" by 18" pillow form
**3/4
yard fabric (for front and back
panel; I used faux suede)
**1/2 yard fabric (for front and
inner panel; I used faux suede)
**Small pieces of print cotton
fabric (I used quilter's cotton)
**Medium
weight cutaway stabilizer
**Temporary spray adhesive
**Air-erase pen
**Heavy-duty
thread (for decorative top
stitching)
**Nylon
monofilament thread
**Decorative trim and cord (my
decorative trim is 1 3/4" wide)
**Decorative buttons
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Special Project
Notes:
This pillow is fashioned after the crazy
quilting style made popular in the late
1800s. In
colonial times, the piecing together of bits
of fabric was done out of necessity. As
clothing and linens wore out, fabric that
still had some life left was sewn into
quilts. Nowadays, crazy quilting is done for
aesthetic effect, and the whimsical shapes and random
patterns give this pillow its unique
character.
Designs Used:
I used the
large size of the
Alhena Swirl Border and the
small,
medium, and
large sizes of the
Battenburg Poinsettia (Lace).
You could also use the
Battenburg Holly (Lace) embellishments,
and border designs such as the
Albali Swirl Border and the
Denebola Swirl Border would be lovely as
well. |
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First, I will prepare the
embroidered upper left section
of the front of the pillow.
Cut two pieces of fabric
to 18" wide by 8" high (I used
faux suede and chose a different
color for each piece).
Align the pieces
together, right sides together,
pin in place along one of the
long sides and sew a 1/2" seam
along the pinned edge only.
Press the back seam open
(use a pressing cloth if using
faux suede to prevent the fabric
from melting).
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Spray a piece of cutaway
stabilizer with temporary adhesive
and smooth the fabric on top.
Using an air-erase pen or
other marking tool, measure and mark
the center of the seam by measuring
and dividing by two.
Create a paper template of
the design by printing it at full
size using embroidery software.
Poke a hole in the center of
the template and align it with the
center point on the fabric. Also,
align the horizontal axis line with
the seam.
Mark the vertical axis points
and remove the template.
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Draw a line connecting the vertical
axis points.
Next, to make sure the seams
will not fold over during the
embroidering process, top stitch a
1/8" seam along each side of the
seam (Note: match the top thread to
the fabric color to make the top
stitches less noticeable).
Then, hoop the fabric and
stabilizer together by aligning the
marks on the hoop with the lines on
the fabric.
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Attach the hoop to the machine and
load the design.
Move the hoop so that the
needle is directly aligned with the
center point on the fabric.
Embroider the design.
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When the design has finished,
trim away the excess stabilizer on
the backside of the embroidery.
Lay the fabric flat with the
right side facing up and the design
turned at about a 45 degree angle.
Measure and mark 1 1/4" out
from the outer left edge of the
design.
Also, measure and mark 1 1/4"
down from the bottom edge of the
design.
Using a straight edge draw a
9 1/2" horizontal line using the
bottom mark as a guide.
Draw a 9 1/2" line, starting
at the bottom line, up along the
left side using the left mark as a
guide.
Then, draw a 9 1/2" line
along the top and right side using
the ends of the first two lines as
guides.
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Next, I will prepare the fabric for
the upper right section of the front
of the pillow.
Cut several pieces of fabric
(I used faux suede and quilter's
cotton) into irregular shapes.
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Piece them together randomly by aligning the
edges together, right sides
together, pin in place, and sew a
1/4" seam along the pinned edge.
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Trim the fabric to create straight
edges and repeat the process of
piecing the fabric until you have an
area that is a bit larger than 10
1/2" wide by 9 1/2" high.
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Using heavy-duty thread, I used a
decorative stitch to top stitch
along some of the seams (the
heavy duty thread shows up
better than regular all-purpose
thread because it is thicker).
Then, draw a 10 1/2" wide
by 9 1/2" high square on the
fabric and cut out the shape.
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Lay the upper left section flat
with the right side facing up.
Align the upper right
section on top, right sides
together, pin in place along the
right side and sew a 1/2" seam
along the pinned edge only.
Press the seams.
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Next, to prepare the bottom
section of the front, piece
together the fabric just as you
did for the upper right section
creating an area that is a bit
larger than 19" wide by 10 1/2"
high. I used a larger solid
colored piece in this section to
offset the color of the
Battenburg lace. I also added decorative
trim along one of the seams. Pin the trim in place and
sew it in place with nylon
monofilament thread in the
needle. Leave about
1/2" of excess
trim extending out past the edge
of the fabric.
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Align the bottom section on
top of the top section (top
section laying flat, right side
facing up), right sides
together, pin in place, and sew
a 1/2" seam along the bottom
edge.
Press the seam.
I also top stitched a
decorative stitch along the seam
between the top and bottom
sections.
Next, embroider
the
Battenburg Poinsettias (Lace).
Read my
project instructions
to see how to embroider the
Battenburg lace.
After the lace
has dried, press it with a
pressing cloth.
Arrange the lace on the
front panel how you want it;
leave at least one inch of space
between the outer edges of the
lace and the edge of the fabric.
Pin in place and using
nylon monofilament thread in the
needle, tack the lace in place
by sewing a seam around the
entire outer edges.
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Next, I added decorative buttons
and cord.
I used a small wire
cutter to cut the backs of the
buttons so they would lay flat.
Add fabric glue to the
buttons and cord and press them
in place.
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To prepare the back panels,
cut two pieces of fabric to 12
1/2" wide by 19" high.
Then, fold one of the
long edges of each panel in 1/2"
to the wrong side and press. Then, fold the fabric
over 1/2" to the wrong side again
and press. Sew a
1/4" seam along the
folded edges.
Overlap the panels
over one another, wrong side
over right side and with the
folded edges facing in. Measure the panels top to
bottom and left to right. Overlap them so that the total
dimensions are 19" wide by 19"
high.
Pin in place and tack the
panels together at the top and
bottom by sewing a 1/4" seam along
the overlapping areas only.
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To prepare the inner lining for
the front panel, lay the front
panel on top of the fabric,
wrong sides together, pin in
place, and cut out the shape.
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Align the back panels on top of
the front panel, right sides
together, pin in place and sew a
1/2" seam along the entire outer
edges of the fabric.
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Turn the fabric right side out
and insert the pillow inside.
To add the back closure,
add a 1" button at the center of
the bottom panel about 1 1/2"
from the folded edge.
Cut a length of 1/4" wide
ribbon to 12", fold it in half,
and tie a knot at one end.
Hand-sew the ribbon in
place directly across from the
button on the opposite panel
(top panel).
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To close the back, overlap the panels and wrap
the ribbon around the button.
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