New Hot Patterns Free Pattern Download: Tumbling Leaves for Cozy Comfort
The change of the seasons from summer to fall is my favorite time of year. I love to welcome the start of holiday season with a decor refresh, and this year, we have a new Hot Patterns free download to help! The Tumbling Leaf Trapunto Pillow is a great addition to your home dec arsenal. If you've never tried trapunto quilting before -- a technique which involves sewing two layers of fabric together, then stuffing the stitched design via small slit openings in the backing layer -- this is a great intro project. It's sort of like trapunto-light. If you do a quick internet image search for the word "trapunto," you'll immediately see just how intricate and detailed the trapunto method can get. So, as I said earlier, this is a great way to dip your toe into the water before jumping in.
I actually assembled this pillow both with and without the trapunto approach so you can see the difference in dimensionality you can achieve with this method. Both of my pillows are made with upholstery velvet, so other than the difference in the detailing, all things are equal on these two.
For the first, non-trapunto version, I sandwiched two layers of Warm & Natural cotton batting between my velvet and my cotton backing fabric, and stitched the design through all layers to create the front of the pillow. This creates a very gently quilted look. Cotton batting is not as high-loft as some other batting choices, so a high-loft poly batting will give you a little more depth to your stitching.
For the second version, I assembled as directed in the pattern, stitching the design through the velvet and backing fabric, then cutting small slits in the backing fabric and gently stuffing in the details with small bits of batting. As you can see, this version has much more dimension -- the details on the leaf really stand out.
Here are both pillows together again so you can really see, side-by-side, how differently they turned out from one another. I like them both, but I really love the sculptural look of the second one.
This is also a good gift project. If you know someone who loves the great outdoors and likes to bring nature inside, you can easily customize these to match any decor. Since they're autumn-themed, you might have to give out holiday gifts a little early so the recipients can get full use out of them right away!
Ready to try your hand at these dimensionally-detailed pillows? Download the free pattern here, grab a half-yard of your favorite home dec fabric and get started!
I actually assembled this pillow both with and without the trapunto approach so you can see the difference in dimensionality you can achieve with this method. Both of my pillows are made with upholstery velvet, so other than the difference in the detailing, all things are equal on these two.
For the first, non-trapunto version, I sandwiched two layers of Warm & Natural cotton batting between my velvet and my cotton backing fabric, and stitched the design through all layers to create the front of the pillow. This creates a very gently quilted look. Cotton batting is not as high-loft as some other batting choices, so a high-loft poly batting will give you a little more depth to your stitching.For the second version, I assembled as directed in the pattern, stitching the design through the velvet and backing fabric, then cutting small slits in the backing fabric and gently stuffing in the details with small bits of batting. As you can see, this version has much more dimension -- the details on the leaf really stand out.Here are both pillows together again so you can really see, side-by-side, how differently they turned out from one another. I like them both, but I really love the sculptural look of the second one. This is one of those dangerous projects for me -- it gives me alllllllll kinds of ideas about other pillows I could create. Imagine bats and skulls at Halloween, wreaths and holly and snowflakes at Christmas, even giant-sized conversation hearts for Valentine's Day with messages stitched into them!
This is also a good gift project. If you know someone who loves the great outdoors and likes to bring nature inside, you can easily customize these to match any decor. Since they're autumn-themed, you might have to give out holiday gifts a little early so the recipients can get full use out of them right away!Ready to try your hand at these dimensionally-detailed pillows? Download the free pattern here, grab a half-yard of your favorite home dec fabric and get started!
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