Let me start by saying that I had never appliqued by machine until my latest project. My wish to do so started when I saw a very cute design by the whole country caboodle offered as a kit online. I don't often work from kits, usually preferring to design my own projects but this was too adorable to pass up and I was up for a learning challenge.
I did not realize what I was in for. After reading over the instructions multiple times, I realized that I needed to relax and take things one step at a time. First I had to make the pillow cover and order a pillow form online because of its odd size (14" x 20"). The material provided to make the pillow cover was a towel.
Next, I needed to fuse the yellow fabric to an adhesive, cushiony backing and then mark lines at 45 degree angles, going both ways. I then machine stitched those lines which form a grid background for the applique motif.
I had never pre-assembled appliques before and needed to buy a silicone mat for doing so. After carefully removing the paper from the pre-fused appliques and clipping the laser cuts of them, I was ready to do this work. I watched the tutorial provided by Leanne Anderson of the Whole Country Caboodle that shows how to layer the appliques, carefully fusing parts of them as I went. I then fused the pre-assembled unit to the background.
An online video about doing machine applique on a Bernina machine was very helpful. I chose to do the buttonhole stitch to secure the pieces. Some of those pieces are very tiny and it was not an easy task, especially for a beginner. Oh! And I had to visit the quilt store to buy an open toe presser foot (#20) for my machine, and the threads mentioned in the video. The applique work is not perfect but I was pleased with it as a first effort.
To finish I needed to make a binding, sew it on, and sew on wide rick-rack, and Velcro on the ends of the pillow wrap. I think it is a very unusual project. I've never seen anything like it before. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants a challenge or is really "into" machine applique.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing the completed work! That is my accomplishment of this summer. Now, on to other projects!
Happy Quilting!
Patricia Cummings
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