Amy Butler's In Stitches: More Than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projects (8 page)

ROUND RUFFLE PILLOW - FIGURE 6

c.
To gather the ruffle, place the button/carpet thread on top of your fabric,
¹
/
₄
″ in from the long seamed edge of the ruffle, leaving about 8″ to 10″ extra on the end of the ruffle strip. Then, with a wide zigzag stitch, stitch back and forth across the heavy thread, along the long seamed edge of the ruffle strip, backstitching at each end. The zigzag stitching makes a casing over the thread. Be careful not to stitch through the heavy thread; otherwise you won’t be able to pull the thread to gather the ruffle.
(
FIGURE 4C
)

d.
Pull the button/carpet thread on each end of the strip, gathering in the ruffle strip tight, and moving the gathers in toward the center of the strip.

e.
Then, to tie off the ends of the gathering thread in order to keep the gathering from loosening up, place a straight pin at the end of the ruffle. Taking the heavy thread used to gather the ruffle, loop it around the ends of the straight pin in a figure 8 pattern (up and around the top of the straight pin and down and across the bottom part of the pin). Do this a number of times to hold the gathering in place. Repeat this step to tie off the other end of the gathering thread on the other end of the ruffle. Keep the straight pins in place until after you stitch the ruffle to the pillow top.

Step 5. Make the rosette for the center of the pillow.

Repeat steps 4a through 4d. To form the rosette, coil the gathered strip for the rosette in a continuous circle, slip stitching
*
by hand at the bottom of the base as you go to keep the base of the rosette from uncoiling.
(
FIGURE 5
)

*
See page 171
for an explanation of slip stitching.

Step 6. Attach the ruffle and rosette to the pillow.

a.
On the
Right
side of the front pillow panel, place your rosette in the center of the panel and pin it in place. Using your chalk pencil, draw a circle around the base of the rosette to leave room for it when attaching the ruffle. Remove the rosette.

b.
Then, starting 5
¹
/
₂
″ in from the outside raw edge, take the gathered ruffle and pin it onto the front pillow panel in a continuous circle, slowly working the ruffle toward the center of the pillow. Once you pin the ruffle around the pillow in one complete turn, stop pinning and machine stitch the first row of ruffle in place. Then, continue pinning the ruffle in a continuous spiral shape, stopping and sewing each time you complete one turn around the panel. You can vary the tightness of the ruffle by taking tucks in the ruffle or overlapping it as you go. Remove any pins that you used to tie off the gathering stitches on the ruffles and trim away the long ends of the gathering threads.

c.
Then, place the rosette in the center of the pillow again and slip stitch the rosette to the pillow top by hand completely around the base of the rosette.
(
FIGURE 6
)

Step 7. Attach the front and back pillow panels together.

a.
First, fold the ruffle in on the front pillow panel so you don’t catch the ruffle in your stitching. Then place the pillow panels with
Right
sides together and pin them in place. Stitch a
¹
/
₂
″ seam around the pillow panels, leaving a 10″ opening to turn the pillow
Right
side out.

b.
Now, turn the pillow cover
Right
side out and insert the pillow form. Then, fold under the seam allowances of the opening and pin the opening closed. Slip stitch the opening closed by hand.

POM-POM PILLOW

FINISHED SIZE: 16″ WIDE × 28″ LONG

FABRICS

• 1 yard (36″-wide) mid- to heavyweight cotton fabric for the pillow panels

• 1 yard (36″-wide) cotton muslin for the pillow form

OTHER SUPPLIES

• Coordinating thread

• 1 1-lb. bag shredded foam

• 1
¹
/
₈
″ × 5″ piece stiff cardboard

• 4 (65m/50g) balls coordinating yarn, or 200 grams “chunky” coordinating yarn
*

• Yardstick

• Chalk pencil or fabric marker

• Scissors

• Hand sewing yarn needle (size 11)

• Straight pins

• Turning tool (such as a closed pair of scissors)

NOTES

• All seams are
¹
/
₂
″ unless otherwise stated. (The
¹
/
₂
″ seam allowance is included in all cutting measurements.)

• Preshrink your fabric by washing, drying, and pressing it before starting your project.

*
We used a yarn thickness that is suitable for size 11 knitting needles.

Step 1. Cut all pieces from the fabric.

Simply measure and mark the dimensions below directly onto the
Wrong
side of your fabric, using your yardstick and chalk pencil. Then, using your scissors, cut out each panel following the marked lines.

FROM THE FABRIC FOR THE PANELS

• Cut 2 panels: 17″ wide × 29″ long

FROM THE FABRIC FOR THE PILLOW FORM

• Cut 2 panels: 17″ wide × 29″ long

Step 2. Make the muslin pillow form.

First, take the 2 muslin pillow panels and place them
Right
sides together. Stitch a
¹
/
₂
″ seam around the panels, leaving a 6″ opening on one of the long sides. Then, trim the 4 corners in the seam allowance, making sure not to clip into your stitching.

Step 3. Finish the pillow form.

Turn the muslin pillow form
Right
side out and press. Fill the pillow form with the shredded foam to your desired firmness. Fold under the
¹
/
₂
″ seam allowance on the opening and pin the opening closed. Then, slip stitch the opening closed by hand or machine stitch close to the folded edge.

Step 4. Make the pom-poms for the pillow top.

a.
Wind your yarn around the 1
¹
/
₈
″ width of the cardboard approximately 100 times.
(
FIGURE 4A
)

b.
Then, take an 18″ piece of yarn and thread it onto a yarn needle, pulling through about 4″ of the yarn. Slide the needle underneath the wrapped yarn on the cardboard along the bottom long side and pull the needle through, leaving 4″ of the yarn hanging out on each side. Tie the ends of the yarn tight in a single knot at the center of the yarn along the bottom edge of the cardboard to hold it securely in place.
(
FIGURE 4B
)

c.
Using your scissors, cut the yarn along the top edge of the cardboard, releasing the yarn from the cardboard. Now, tighten up the knot you made in the center of the cut yarn and tie a double knot to secure the strands of yarn. Fluff up the pom-pom to make a half sphere and trim the long ends and long strands of yarn to make a rounded shape. Repeat this step to make a total of 18 pom-poms and then set them aside. The pom-poms will be attached to the front of the pillow by stitching the flat side of the sphere onto the pillow front.
(
FIGURE 4C
)

Step 5. Mark the placement for the pom-poms on the front pillow panel.

On the
Right
side of the first pillow panel, starting at the top left corner, measure and mark the following increments across the top raw edge: 4
¹
/
₂
″, 8
¹
/
₂
″, 12
¹
/
₂
″, 16
¹
/
₂
″, 20
¹
/
₂
″, 24
¹
/
₂
″. Then, starting at the bottom left corner, measure and mark the same increments across the bottom raw edge. Using your yardstick and a chalk pencil, line up the coordinating marks and draw a line between them. Then, measure and mark the first three increments (4
¹
/
₂
″, 8
¹
/
₂
″, and 12
¹
/
₂
″) down both sides of the front pillow panel. Line up the coordinating marks and draw a line between them.
(
FIGURE 5
)

Step 6. Attach the pom-poms to the front pillow panel.

Center the pom-poms where the marks intersect and pin them in place. Doubling up the thread in your needle for strength, slip stitch
*
each pom-pom firmly in place by hand.

*
See page 171
for an explanation of slip stitching.

Step 7. Attach the front and back pillow panels together.

Place the 2 pillow panels
Right
sides together, matching up the side raw edges, and pin them in place. Stitch a
¹
/
₂
″ seam around the panels, leaving a 15″ opening in the center of one of the long side raw edges. Trim each of the corners in the seam allowance, making sure not to clip the stitching.

Step 8. Finish the Pom-pom Pillow.

Turn the pillow
Right
side out and press. Insert the muslin pillow form you made in steps 2 and 3 inside the pillow cover. Fold under the
¹
/
₂
″ seam allowance in the opening and pin the opening closed. Slip stitch the opening closed by hand.

FIGURE 4A

FIGURE 4B

FIGURE 4C

FIGURE 5