"Bewitching Hour" Halloween mini pillow...

Hey everyone!!  I love crafting for Halloween!  It's one of my favorite Holidays to create for, and it reminds me that Fall is right around the corner!!  Woohoooo!!!  I'm over the summer already here in Florida... hot, humid weather, Tropical Storm Isaac, mosquitos, and frizzy hair....yeah, I'm ready for a little cooler weather.  LOL! :)  So....I decided to make a little mini Halloween pillow using that great little die from Tim Holtz, "Bewitching Hour", I thought it would make a great silhouette on a simple pillow.  Below are instructions on how I made it.  I hope you enjoy! :)

So are you ready to get started?  Okay here's what you'll need to create one of your own.  

From Sizzix you'll need the Bewitching Hour die from Tim Holtz

and a Sizzix Big Shot Pro, Big Shot or Vagabond die cutting machine

You will also need:  muslin, misc fall fabrics, black and light brown floss from DMC, natural quilting batting, a disappearing ink pen, chipboard, sewing needle, your sewing machine, poly fiberfill, instant coffee, fabric stiffener and an iron

Okay so before I got started in any sewing, I wanted to first age my fabric and I did this by using some instant coffee.  Use about 4 cups of boiling water and add about 1/2 cup of instant coffee, then add your fabric.  Let it sit for as long as you'd like until you get the color you like, (it will dry slightly lighter).  Check on it approximately every 10 minutes or so.  Then I like to wring the fabric out, place it in a warm oven about 220 degrees till it ages a bit more, but watch it carefully while it's in the oven so it doesn't burn.  Take fabric out and set aside to dry completely.  When it's dry, spray lightly with fabric stiffener to "primitize" it.  This will help keep in those wrinkles for a nice primitive look.

When your fabric has been treated, you are now ready for the next step.  Die cut a witch using chipboard.  Set the "negative" onto your fabric and using a disappearing ink pen, trace around the inside of the witch.  (I used the negative, because it much more stable, and it keeps the witch looking most like the orginal).

When finished tracing, your piece should look something like this...

On a side note, disappearing ink will usually "disappear" in 48 to 72 hours, so you have a little bit of time to finish your project.

Now lay your image on top of a piece of natural quilting batting and using 3 strands of black DMC floss, stitch around the lines of the witch. You can choose to use an embroidery hoop if you'd like, but this project is so small, it fits nicely in your hands, so I opted not to use one.

I then wrote the word "Boo" in the corner and sewed that with a light brown floss.  When you are finished sewing, press it lightly with an iron, then trim around the finished piece.  My finished piece measured 6 x 6 1/4.  For the borders I cut 2 pieces of coordinating fabric for the sides first measuring 6 1/4 x 2.  Pin right sides together and sew 1/4 seam allowance down the sides and press flat when done.

For the bottom, measure the width and cut 2 more strips of coordinating fabric x 2 inches.  For my pillow it came out to be 9 1/2 x 2.  Pin the right sides together and machine stitch again using a 1/4" seam allowance.  When finished, press with your iron.

When finished with the bottom pieces, and after it's been pressed, turn the piece over and measure the entire area and cut one piece of coordinating fabric for your backing. In my case I cut one piece measuring 9 1/4 x 9 1/2.  Pin right sides together and machine stitch around.

Be sure to leave a small opening in the bottom.  When finished, flip piece inside out lay flat and press with your iron. Then fill with poly fiberfill and sew closed, it's that easy.  :)  

You are finished!  I hope you enjoyed my pillow and I hope this inspires you to create one of your own.  Thankyou so much for stopping by! :)

 

Comments

[Diana Waite]

this is ROCK'N I LOVE it! Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays as well!

[sewa mobil jakarta]

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

[Michelle]

That's so cute! I don't have the witch die, but I want to try the technique with some of the dies I do own.