Perhaps you recall my Valentine Cat that I stitched last month. 'Twas a quick little project to stitch, and I pulled the supplies for the finishing process together quickly, too.
Then Margaret did a Margaret thing. I had to stop for a number of weeks to figure out the next step. I knew I wanted the gingham fabric to line up on the front of the pillow. But if I sewed strips of fabric along each side of the stitching as I usually do, it would make me nuts if the gingham didn't line up correctly.
So I had to stew on it.
A couple days ago the answer came in a flash -- applique it on the front of the gingham. Duh!
So I used interfacing on the inside of the front panel of the pillow so the light gingham fabric could have the heft to hold the applique. I used fusible web initially to attach the stitching to the front panel. Then I reinforced it by stitching it in place.
Next came the decisions regarding trimming the appliqued piece to make the edges look tidy. Finding a coordinating ribbon of a pleasing width took far longer than expected, but I finally got there.
Then it took several attempts before I figured out how to miter the corners of the ribbon around the stitching. I'm super pleased with myself for a first try at mitering this way. The corners are relatively neat and the stitching on the edges of the ribbon is straight.
Learning to miter corners using my sewing machine instead of by hand stitching is one of the advanced sewing techniques I wanted to learn this year.
I inserted a zipper at the bottom of the pillow so that I can store the pillow cover flat when it's not in use.
(And LOOK how well the gingham matches on the bottom edge!)
The back has the same sweet heart gingham as the front. I even managed to get the orientation the same on both sides -- hearts up!
The Valentine Kitty is in place. It's about the only Valentine decoration I have up so far.
Now I'm inspired to do the rest.
1 comment:
Adorable great corners!!
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