Moda... the Cutting Table

blog.modafabrics.com · Jun 30, 2017

Stripes & Stars…

Red, white and blue.

It isn’t any secret around here that I like making pillows. Different sizes. Different shapes. Sometimes with a theme, sometimes not. Mostly quilted – but not always.

With the 4th of July this weekend and a lovely summer ahead, I was in the mood to make a simple holiday-themed project… simple until I decided to quilt it, finish the pillow with a zipper and then write a quick pattern.

The pillow above is made with fabrics from Fig Tree & Co.‘s Coney Island collection – with one or two additions because I wanted all the stripes to be different.

This pillow measures 12″ x 24″ finished and it’s titled Stripes & One Star – Stripes & One Star Instructions.

(You’ll forgive the hand-drawn diagrams, right?)

Because one pillow is never enough… Stripes & Stars. (Stripes & Five Stars sounded a bit odd.)

Bonnie & Camille‘s The Good Life, Basics and I spy with my little eye… a stripe of Vintage Picnic. The background is one of my favorites, it’s from Miss Scarlet by Minick & Simpson. (It’s number 14817 11 – Ivory.)

Stripes & Stars measures 20″ x 20″ – Stripes & Stars Instructions.

There are two more things to mention. First, I like finishing my pillows with a zipper for several reasons. I like that it keeps the pillow cover tight and smooth, but it’s still easily removed for washing. If the front of the pillow is quilted, then I’ll usually take the time to quilt the backing as well. A zipper makes for an easy finish at the bottom – except that it usually needs more than a 1/4″ seam allowance to get the zipper to fit nicely. I just take a 1/2″ seam allowance and don’t worry about it as the slightly smaller pillow cover makes for a better fit on a pillow form.

Second, I do like quilting pillows and pillow backs. Simply put, I like the way it looks and I think the pillow covers hold up better through use and washings when they’re quilted. I use a relatively thin cotton batting and the thinnest bleached muslin I can find for the backing. When the quilting is done, I trim up the pillow, edge-stitch the quilt sandwich and then assemble-finish the pillow as desired.

These pillows have let me continue playing with with Aurifil’s 80wt. cotton thread. It’s so fine that I can put a lot of quilting on the surface without making it look like it’s covered with thread.

I use my “regular” Aurifil 50wt. thread in the bobbin and a 75/11 needle. Most of the stitching I’ve done so far with the 80wt. is with neutrals in white, cream, a slightly “mucky tan” and silver gray but I’ve bought a few spools in brighter colors. (I’ll let you know how that goes.)

That’s it for today.

I hope you have a lovely weekend wherever you are. And if you’re in the colonies – I hope you have a happy, safe and wonderful l o n g 4th of July weekend.

Happy Friday!

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