Free: September 2012 Archives

For everywhere but Georgia it seems that fall is in the air. The leaves are turning and there is a bite in the air. I can feel it in my bones even if I can't feel it in the temperature outside. I yearn to choose jewel tones, leaf motifs and drink apple cider. So, of course, I made a wreath to channel my inner thoughts. At least my door can look as festive as I feel even if my family is still in tank tops and shorts.

To make a Fall Felt Wreath like mine you will need to visit a few tutorials. The first is a free bird pattern that is designed to use as a mobile, and I did use it to create one for my first born and plan to make a second for my soon-to-be little one, but this time I crafted just one bird from felt. When you make yours be patient when turning it since the felt is thicker than the quilting cotton this pattern was designed for so it will be stubborn. Once you triumph you can use a small whip stitch to close the tail after your firmly stuff. The second tutorial is the felt rose bud by Creative Jewish.

The supplies you will need are  one straw wreath form that can be had from your local grocery store, hardware store or big box store, some scrap yarn, about 100 yds of 2 colors. I choose two tonal colors in a cotton blend and a wool blend for pom-poms and to wrap the wreath. You will also need several pieces of felt in fall colors for roses and the bird. Lastly you will need your glue gun.

First, wrap your wreath with both yarn colors. I wrapped mine last because once I had my pom-poms, roses and the bird my wreath needed something more. If you wrap yours first you can ensure it has complete coverage and it will make it even more beautiful. Tie it off in the back and add a little extra at the top for hanging. Next, make your pom-poms, about 5-8 will do. You can either tie them on or glue them in place. Attach them in a cluster towards the bottom so your bird will have a nest. Next, make your bird and carefully glue him in place. Be sure you lean your wreath up against a flat wall before you do this so you can make sure your bird doesn't lean toward the back too much as this will interfere with hanging. If your bird doesn't push your wreath away from the wall then he is sitting just fine. If he does, reposition him more toward the front of your wreath. I positioned my bird's back to the front of the wreath so it would appear he was building his fall nest. Then I clustered some roses right below him, about 4-6 should be good unless you love them and want more, more, more. You can cluster more at the top or cover the remaining wreath. Try topping them off with faux berries, pearls or beads for some added glitz. Glue your roses in place.

You can embellish your wreath further by embroidering your bird's back, draping a long piece of knitted icord around your wreath or cutting out felt leaves and gluing them in clusters around your roses. I hope you will share your own creations on our Facebook page. 

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.

Nautical is IN! Wide stripes, anchors and navy & white are the classic combos that are visible in home decorating everywhere. You may want to add a beachy feel to one room or just a hint of nautical. It is easy to curb any craving of nautical décor. My Ship Wheel Appliqué Pillow can finish off your room or inspire you to get started. If navy isn't for you try adding another shade of deep blue (like the dark turquoise canvas I used for this project) or red and white (popular light house colors) or off white/cream and blues and greens. Any color combo that evokes the feeling of sand and water will help create that tranquil environment in your home.

For the Ship Wheel Pillow you will need:

1 yd white or off white fabric (I used canvas because it looks like sail cloth) for pillow case

½ yd of navy, deep turquoise or red for appliqué

Heat n Bond

Ship Wheel Clip Art (here is the picture I used)

Instructions:

Measure your pillow and add 1'' to the width and height for seam allowance and cut one piece from your white fabric (if inserting a zipper, cut two pieces and use these instructions). For the back envelope pieces, cut 2 pieces using the same height measurement as above but divide your width in half and add 4'' (example: original cut width is 21'' h x 21'' w, cut 2 pieces 21'' h x 14.5'' w [21/2= 10.5 + 4= 14.5]). Zig zag or serge across one 21'' end for each back piece. Fold down this edge ½'' and press. Topstitch across pressed edge. Set back pieces aside

Print out your Ship Wheel Appliqué making sure you print it to the size you need. If you want 3 smaller wheels like my pillow measure the diagonal of your pillow to determine size. If you want one large, print it in mosaic or print it at a copy shop. Trace your ship wheel onto the heat n bond and apply to the wrong side of your navy fabric. Cut along the outside of your wheel. To create the interior of the wheel, use a fabric marker or chalk pencil to add in the details and sew over the lines with bright white thread. It is best to do this before you apply the appliqués to your pillow front.

Apply your appliqué[s] in a manner you find pleasing. I applied mine on the diagonal because it is a popular nautical flag/sail design. You can then straight stitch or zig zag stitch around your ship wheel.

Lay your front pillow piece RS up and overlap your back envelope pieces like, well, an envelope with RS facing the front piece and pin in place. Stitch a ½'' seam all the way around the pillow. Clip corners and turn RS out. Insert pillow.

This is a great design to add to canvas bags, bibs, curtains hems and mod podged to furniture to complete your nautical theme. Change it up a bit by combining one off-the-wall fabric, like silk, satin or velvet, with a standard nautical fabric, like canvas or cotton duck, to add elegance or texture. Once you start adding nautical you won't be able to stop.

Check out our other nautical themed posts here