Tag: pillow

A Double-sided Halloween Pillow

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When I joined the Snarky and Modern Facebook Group for the RBG Stitch Along, I found out that there was also an embroidery stitch along happening at the same time. I’ve been wanting to do more embroidery, so I decided to pick this one up as well. Here is the finished result:

As the opposite side of a scrap-stuffed pillow with this piece designed by 8.Bit.Stitch that I stitched last year:

I wasn’t entirely certain what I was going to do when I started, but luckily I made it on a large enough bit of fabric that it fit perfectly with the cross stitched piece I had finished a year earlier. It was a great way to work on some stitches I needed to practice, like French knots.

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Week 1 of the #SnarkySAL done! I have no real plan for the color scheme other than I’m not exactly following the original one. But this is my favorite looking mushroom colors, so that’s what I went with. Also, the shininess of the Sulky makes it a little difficult on the dark fabric with the light coming from behind me, but I made it work. Image description: A trio of embroidered mushrooms with cream colored whipped back stitch outlined stems and red satin stitched caps with three white French knots each in the bottom corners of the caps. The background is purple canvas and has slightly shiny stabilizer over the top with black outlines of the pattern on it. #Embroidery #Mushrooms #DIY #Sewing #HandEmbroidery #HandSewing #Halloween #Purple

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I think I can finally say I’ve got the hang of the French knot after not being able to do them consistently ever.

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Saturdays are for this #SnarkySAL. And the other one I’m doing. And some knitting. And some errands. Anyway, did the vines and leaves today, though I used a different stitch for the leaves than the one that is called for and can’t seem to find in my stitch dictionary to tell you the name of. Image description: A white embroidery hoop is holding purple fabric and a shiny stabilizer with a black outline of the pattern drawn on it. There are mushrooms with tan stems and red tops embroidered in the bottom center, and a green vine with leaves following he curve of the circle up each side, also in the lower half of the hoop. #Embroidery #Mushrooms #Vines #HandEmbroidery #HandSewing #DIY #Halloween #WIP

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I really like the way it turned out on the dark purple, even if it was difficult to see the lines on the water soluble stabilizer. Though some of that difficulty may have stemmed from the fact I didn’t have the printable type and instead had to use some from a roll I had laying around. I don’t think it was meant to be used for pattern transfers.

It worked, though. I printed the pattern on paper, originally intending to trace it directly onto the fabric with a water-removable fabric pen, but I couldn’t see the pattern through the fabric even on my lightbox’s highest setting. The clear stabilizer worked with the pattern traced in a micron pen. No marks were left once I washed it away, so it can work in a pinch if you happen to have it on hand.

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Quick DIY: Mini Heart Pillows

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One would think it would be impossible to forget a holiday that is advertised everywhere for the month and a half leading up to it, but one would be wrong. That is how I found myself desperately making four Valentine’s at 8:00pm Thursday night. At first I attempted to knit some little heart pillows. I found the perfect tutorial and had set about on the knitting, when I looked at the clock, realized it was 9:00pm now, and saw that I was only about a quarter of the way through Valentine #1.

Change of plans, and quick. I don’t have much in the way of craft supplies just lying around. Sure, I could draw up some cards in no time, but these are for little people who are pre-reading and would really rather have something tangible. So I dug through my meager closet stash and found a piece of purple, a piece of yellow, and a large piece of green felt in my “leftovers” basket.

With just the felt, a pair of scissors, some embroidery thread, and a minuscule amount of supplemental yarn to add to the padding, I managed to whip up some cute little love pillows.

Mini Heart Pillow DIY

Materials

  • Colored Craft Felt
  • Scissors
  • Embroidery Thread
  • Stuffing (can use fiber fill, left-over fabric/yarn, basically whatever you have on hand to fill the pillow with)

Instructions

  1. Cut two matching heart shapes from the felt. This can either be done with a template you create on paper or, my favorite method, by folding the felt in half while cutting to keep the hearts as close to each other in shape as possible.
  2. Using all six strands of embroidery thread (to make it stand out; use less if you want a more subtle effect), back-stitch the name of the recipient or your desired message onto one of the felt hearts. This tutorial from wikiHow can help if you have never done a back-stitch before. Note- I don’t knot my thread, i just leave a bit hanging at the beginning of my work on the wrong side of the fabric.
  3. Holding both hearts wrong sides together, take all six strands of thread and a running stitch around the edges to hold the pieces together. Be sure to stuff it as you go so you aren’t trying to push a whole pillow’s-worth of stuffing through a tiny hole at the end.
  4. Bring the end of your thread through the middle of the pillow, putting the needle in between the felt pieces at the edge and taking it out the same way at the opposite edge and cut the thread close to the pillow.

And that is it. You have a nice little gift to show your love and appreciation of a loved one in a very short amount of time. I think each of these took me around ten minutes from start to finish. It may take you more or less time depending on how proficient you are at sewing and embroidery, of course.

What kinds of gifts did you give for Valentine’s day?