The Posy Pillow

The Posy Pillow
TM
www.sewmccool.com
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ongratulations on deciding to sew this beautiful pieced and appliquéed pillow! This is part of
Birdsong’s Practical Piecing series that teaches the basics of piecing/quilting with trendy and
practical projects. I highly recommend reading through this instruction manual first, before
jumping in and buying supplies or starting your project. That way, there are no surprises as you
begin.
Please visit my blog, http://www.sewmccool.com for more patterns and inspiration, and contact me
at deanna@sewmccool.com if you have questions!
Photos and text © Deanna D. McCool and Birdsong Patterns/SewMcCool.com 2014. All Rights Reserved. No part
of this publication may be reproduced, shared or transmitted in any form without expressed written permission of
the author. Subject to all international copyright laws. Designs from this pattern may be sold in small quantities by
home-based crafters. Please indicate that they’re made with a Birdsong pattern in any descriptive materials.
Special thanks to Kim Timothy of Boutique by Design for creating my branding graphics!
2
Materials
For 14- and 16-inch pillows:
Fabric A: 5/8 yard
Fabric B: One (1) fat quarter (18” x 22” piece)
A 14- or 16-inch pillow form
Sewing machine
Thread - For general sewing, use matching regular cotton or dual-duty/polyester thread.
For the applique, I recommend a thicker applique thread in the top - 40-weight thread is
great - and a finer, 60-weight thread in the bobbin. The applique thread should coordinate
with your applique, but the bobbin thread can be any neutral color.
General sewing supplies - pins, scissors, seam guide/ruler, marking pen
Water-soluble pen
Iron and ironing board
Double-sided fusible web - I used “Lite” Steam-A-Seam 2, but regular will do as well.
Optional, depending on your applique stitch: If planning a dense stitch, like a satin stitch,
you’ll need tear-away stabilizer to prevent puckering. If using a less-dense stitch, like a
machine blanket stitch, you might be able to go without. Practice on scrap fabric first to
decide.
Optional but recommended: Rotary cutter and self-healing mat
3
Cutting Instructions
For 16-inch pillows:
From Fabric A:
Cut one (1) 17” x 24” rectangle. Cut this in half crosswise for two pieces, 17”x12”.
Cut two (2) 8 3/4” squares
From Fabric B:
Cut two (2) 8 3/4” squares
Leave enough of Fabrics A and B for applique flower template - two on each fabric
For 14-inch pillows:
From Fabric A:
Cut one (1) 15” x 22” rectangle. Cut this in half crosswise for two pieces, 15” x 11”.
Cut two (2) 7 3/4” squares
From Fabric B:
Cut two (2) 7 3/4” squares
Leave enough of Fabrics A and B for applique flower template - two on each fabric
4
1. Cut your fabric pieces according to the size of
pillow you plan to make (see previous page for
exact cutting instructions).
2. Cut out the flower pattern from the pattern
section at the back of this e-book. Trace it
four times onto your fusible web, using the
instructions on back of the web package (Fig.
1).
Fig. 1
3. Warm up your iron.
4. Cut around the fusible and stick to the wrong
side of the fabric, two on each fabric.
5. Fuse and cut according to the instructions
on the back of your fusible package (Fig. 2).
Some “lite” products are harder to stick, so I’ll
quickly swipe a warm iron over the top of the
paper to make sure they stay in place while
cutting.
6. Keep the top piece of paper backing on the
applique pieces until you’re ready to use them
on your pillow front.
Fig. 2
5
7. Arrange your four fabric squares as shown
(Fig. 3).
8. With right sides together, sew the top two
pieces together using a 1/4” seam allowance
(Fig. 4). There’s no need to back stitch,
because all seams will be crossed later.
9. Repeat with the bottom row.
Fig. 3
10. Press the seams to the darker side of the
fabric (Fig. 5).
11. To prepare for sewing both sections together,
place them right sides together. Nestle the
seams exactly at the seam line (Fig. 6). They’ll
fit together well because of the way you’ve
pressed the seams in the previous step.
Fig. 4
Fig. 6
Fig. 5
6
12. To assure your squares will meet neatly in the
center, pin closely on both sides of the seam
to prevent them from moving as you sew (Fig.
7). And don’t remove the pins until you’re
almost right on top of them!
13. Sew the long seam and admire your neat
piecing (Fig. 8)!
14. Decide where you want to place your posy
flowers in each square. You can throw caution
to the wind and “eyeball” them,” or you can
measure a distance from the center seams
and keep it consistent in all four blocks. If you
want to find the center, you’ll have to measure
at least 1/2” from the outside seams before
finding the center, or your posies will be too
close to the edges after sewing the final seam
allowance. Here, I’ve measured the minimum
1/2” in from the top and side of each block
(NOT from the inside seams) and then found
the center by making an X from the corners
with my water-soluble pen (Fig. 9). If you want
your posies closer to the middle of the pillow,
measure a larger distance from the outside
seam, or measure from the center seam
instead.
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
7
15. Fuse your posy flowers according to package
directions, as shown (Fig. 10).
16. Decide what type of stitch you want to use to
applique these down, using your machine. A
basic zigzag will do, but if using a satin stitch
(which is a very close zigzag), you’ll want to
place a piece of tear-away stabilizer to the
back before stitching (Fig. 11).
17. For this project, I recommend a regular zigzag
stitch, a satin stitch, or a machine “blanket”
stitch if your machine has one. Thread your
machine with your thicker applique thread,
and use the finer thread (60 weight) in the
bobbin. I used a blanket stitch and didn’t need
stabilizer, but this depends on your machine.
Consult your manual and practice on scrap
fabric if this is your first time! This is an easy
shape for beginners, but practice makes
perfect. Be sure to stitch around the petals
and the inner circle of each flower. When
done, tear away the stabilizer, if used.
Fig. 10
18. When you’ve finished stitching all four blocks,
set aside.
Fig. 11
19. If you haven’t already, cut your large rectangle
crosswise until you have two rectangular
pieces. If making a 16” pillow, you’ll have two
pieces that measure 17” x 12”. If making a 14”
pillow, you’ll have two pieces that measure 15”
x 11”.
20. Turn down one long side of one of the
rectangles 1/2”. Press. Turn it down another
1/2”. Sew to make a finished hem.
Fig. 12
8
21. Repeat with the other rectangle, so you have
two pieces that look like Fig. 13.
22. With right sides together, overlap these
pieces, with the hems toward the center, by
5 inches (Fig. 14). Make sure the outside
measurement is either 17 inches or 15 inches,
depending on the pillow size you’re making.
23. Pin, and machine baste together at the flaps
on both sides. You’ll be using this square as
a single unit from this point forward. Because
the final seams will be sewn at 1/2”, baste
inside that seam allowance, using a 1/4” seam
or slightly larger (Fig. 15).
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
9
24. To make sure your pillow won’t have “ears” on
all four corners, you’ll be trimming the corners.
This will give a professional look as your cover
fits nicer over your pillow form.
25. Cut out the corner-cutting template found at
the back of this e-book that matches the size
pillow you’re making.
26. Place it on one of the corners, with the straight
edges matching the sides of the pillow front
(Fig. 16).
Fig. 16
27. Mark the corner at the dotted lines.
28. Repeat on the other three corners (Fig. 17).
29. Cut all four corners just on the marks you
made. You can see how the corners are now
tapered (Fig. 18 and illustration below).
Fig. 17
Shape of pillow after trimming
Fig. 18
10
30. Repeat steps on the back cover of your pillow - the square with the flaps you basted
together.
31. Place both covers - the back cover with the
flap and the cover with the appliquéed posies
- right sides together. Match edges and sew
all the way around with a 1/2” seam allowance
(Fig. 20).
32. Finish the edges with a zigzag stitch, or serge.
Fig. 19
33. Turn your pillow case to the right side, and
insert the pillow form (Fig. 21). Enjoy your new
pillow!
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
11
Posy Applique
Print and cut this pattern piece for your posy. Make sure your printer margins are set
to 0, your print scaling is set to “none,” and on a Mac, be sure “Auto Rotate and Center” is not
checked. For this and the cutting templates, use the gray square to check your scaling; if it measures
1” square after printing, you’re set!
1-inch square
14-inch pillow corner template
A
Do not cut fabric
Cutting template for
14-inch pillows
B
here
Cut out this template. Line up
edges A and B to the edges of
your fabric squares (top and
bottom). Mark the placement of
the dotted lines on your fabric.
Cut the fabric on dotted line portion only. Repeat for all four
corners.
Do not cut fabric here!
Trace
&
Cut here
Trace
&
Cut here
Cutting
Template
Do not cut here.
Do not cut here.
1-inch square
Use template on all corners (not to scale).
16-inch pillow corner template
A
Line up edges A and B to the
edges of your fabric squares.(top
& bottom). Mark the placement of
the dotted lines on your fabric.
Cut the fabric on dotted line portion only. Repeat for all corners.
B
Do not cut fabric here
Cutting template for
16-inch pillows
Do not cut fabric here!
Trace
&
Cut here
Trace
&
Cut here
Cutting
Template
Do not cut here.
Do not cut here.
1-inch square
Use template on all corners (not to scale).