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Saturday, June 29, 2013

A Reverse Applique Pillow



I showed you my "Perked Up Porch"  in my last post where  I slathered my front entryway with pink and purple flowers and several accessories in the same shades.

The one thing that was missing from the porch was a comfy pillow on the Muskoka chair.  Hubby spends a great deal of time in this chair reading  during the summer months so I knew  he would appreciate a soft place to land. 

I bought this book back before Christmas and made a few things out of it.


My favourite project from the book so far is  this dear sweet Patchwork Pixie.


When it came time to make the pillow for the porch, I decided to create another of these adorable items.  
The book featured the instructions to make a reverse applique Christmas Tree pillow.


It also suggested making a pillow in a Valentine's Day theme.  I thought this heart version would be welcoming on our porch -- so I set out to make one!



I had never done any "reverse applique" before.  Basically, it is done in three steps.

First I created a patchwork "quilt" of sorts.  I sewed together squares of pretty fabric, then layered this with quilt batting and a backing fabric.  
Then I machine-quilted it to hold the layers together.  




Next, I layered a piece of plain coloured fabric over top of the mini "quilt."  
Because I had chosen a heart shape for this pillow, I traced the shape of a large heart in the centre of the plain fabric.  
Then I stitched through the layers on top of my traced heart.  Three times I went around the heart shape in order to secure the fabric together.   


Then came the scary part.  I took my sharpest scissors and cut inside the stitched heart as closely as I could to the stitches.  I had to be VERY careful not to cut the stitches or any of the fabric on the outside of the stitched line.  

(I'm not going to lie - I did cut some of the fabric in the wrong place, but I was able to fix it up with a little piece of leftover fabric!)


After the decorative front of the pillow was complete, I sewed a matching back to it and turned it into a simple envelope pillow.  


Now it has  slid perfectly into my pink and purple porch scheme.  

And it is plenty comfy enough for my hubby's reading perch.

  Mind you - he has complained a few times about the over-abundance of femininity out there on the porch.  

Okay. Maybe  it is  a bit too much pink and purple for most men - but I reminded him it was better that I decorated like this OUTSIDE, rather than INSIDE!

Have a lovely long weekend!

Hugs to all!

Bronwyn


10 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love the colours Bronwyn! Have a wonderful Canada Day! Angie xo

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  2. This looks gorgeous! My hubby doesn't complain anymore about things being to girly...he's just given up! I will send on that little parcel next week, things have been so hectic! Take care. Chel x

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  3. I think this pillow is SUPER BEAUTIFUL and I really wish I could have it :)

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  4. What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing! I’d love for you to check out our Pattern Party! Those with free patterns and templates to share are invited to link up! Starts on the 1st of each month.

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  5. One word.......BEAUTIFUL!! S.T

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  6. You did a beautiful job! Love the colors you chose! I would LOVE to have you share this at my link party!
    http://www.madetobeamomma.com/2013/07/homemade-by-you-58.html

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  7. So cute! Thanks for sharing at Silver Pennies Sundays. x

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