Back in 2020, I won a super prize from a giveaway on Lynette Anderson's FB group, In Stitches with Lynette Anderson. The prize included this beautiful kit to make the Bird in a Basket pillow, and included the pattern, fabrics, and a hand painted wooden button. I'd already made one of these pillows for me, and decided to make this one for a friend. The stittchery design was traced onto background fabric using a Micron Pigma pen, and a lightweight interfacing was fused to the wrong side. The hand embroidery was stitched using a selection of variegated Valdani stranded embroidery threads. This has been a really portable project, and lots of the hand sewing has been done while I've been watching my husband playing cricket...
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...I used pre-cut hexagon papers for the EPP, and used the thread basting method for both the small and larger hexagons. The basting threads can be left in place when the papers are removed. Once the hexagons had been joined together, they were stitched into place on the front of the pillow...
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...the hand of the basket was made using a narrow strip of fabric cut on the bias, then using a Clover Bias Maker to fold the sides over. This was stitched in place first, then the remaing shapes were sttched using the needleturn applique method. The 3-D flowers were made using a selection of blue fabrics, and a small plastic dome was covered then attached to cover the raw edges of the petals...
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...once the pieced borders were attached to the centre square, the pillow top was pressed, then layered ready for some simple machine quilting. I tend to incorporate the theme of my projects into a label, and I've done the same for this pillow. I usually write on paper first, and sketch out a few ideas for appliqué, embroidery, etc. When I'm happy with the final design, I write over the pencil lines with a very fine black Sharpie pen, and use that as a template that I can trace onto fabric. I tape the pattern directly onto a lightbox, and tape or pin the fabric on top. To trace the design, I use a Micron Pigma pen, nib size 005, in a pale brown colour. Using a pale brown colour ink means the colours of the embroidery thread stay true - if you use a black pen, the colours appear darker. I have used an ordinary pencil for tracing onto fabric too, but it tends to drag the fabric. I've used the same embroidery threads for the hand embroidered "label" that I used on the front of the pillow. A final embellishment for this "label" was a 3-D appliqued flower...
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...once the flap has been pressed and top stitched, a zipper is attached. This is so the inner feather pillow can be removed if the pillow cover needs to be laundered. Once the front and back are attached, I like to neaten the raw edges with a narrow binding, which s machined to the front of the cushion, folded over to the back, then hand stitched in place using ladder stitch. I chose a stripey fabric, also one of Lynette's prints, for this binding...
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...a final press of the pillow cover, then it's ready to be filled with a plump feather pad. I prefer to take photographs of my completed projects outside, as the light is so much better.
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