Hello friends! I'm slowly but surely crossing things off of my sewing to-do list. These two patchwork pillows are Christmas presents for my mom. She loves the colors of autumn, so I'm hoping she'll be pleased with these.
My previous project involving patchwork was my entry for the Solids-Only Tote Challenge. You can check it out here. For the tote, I learned my lesson about mixing types and thicknesses of fabrics. It can be done, but it's a headache! I decided to give myself a break and chose only regular cotton calicoes and prints from my stash. For the backs I used a soft micro-suede in a light brown color.
I was able to recycle some things as well. The striped fabric came from an old sheet set and the micro-suede came from a bed skirt. The batik-ish print with the ankhs has been both pillow covers and curtains in previous lives. It's kind of funny to see the ankhs on pillows once again. ;-)
The photos above show my pillow using the "log cabin" style of patchwork. In this version I made 3 inch wide strips of varying lengths and sewed them together into one very long strip. I started with a single square of fabric and sewed the edge (not the end) of the strip to the square. I trimmed the strip off even with the square's sides and rotated the square counterclockwise. I repeated this process over and over until I had a 22 inch square of patchwork. The result is a vary random pattern of blocks.
If you are totally new to the log cabin process, take one minute and look at this log cabin tutorial. The step-by-step photos will have you nodding your head in comprehension in no time!
Instead of using batting, I used a section of an old fleece blanket and quilted it all together with a gold heavy-duty thread. The fleece gave the patchwork the support it needed without the poofy-puffy effect that batting produces.
The pillow in the photos above is a variation of the log cabin method. I learned how to accomplish it from this great tutorial by Aneela from Comfort Stitching. Aneela calls it the "crazy scrappy block". The result is very vortex-like spiral. I'm very pleased with the look of this one.
Well, that's all for now. Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!
Happy crafting and bug hugs from Montana,
I love the fabric you put together for these pillows. They look great and will make a wonderful gift. I really like the spiral one - reminds me of a rose. Great job! And awesome photos!
ReplyDeleteYour Mum will love her gift!!! I especially like the crazy scrappy block pillow. The spiral effect draws your eye to the pillow.
ReplyDeletePatchworks are always work of love and patience. They look so comfortable and wonderful gifts.
ReplyDeleteI love your patchwork pillows. They are so beautiful! I don't quilt, but seeing these pillows inspire me to want to learn.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty! Great mix of colors and what a great way to recycle some things. Beautiful pictures, too! :)
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